LOV  E Y  MARY 

BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF 

TViRS.OVIGGS 

OF 
THE  CABBAGE   PATCH 


FEE  7    1928 

JUL  6  -1922 


>    v 


LOVEY  MABY 


"They  met  at  the  pump.' 


LOYEY   MAEY 


BY 

ALICE  HEGAN  RICE 

AUTHOR  OF 
"  MRS.  WIGGS  OF  THE  CABBAGE  PATCH " 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1903 


Copyright,  1902, 1903,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 

Published  February,  1903 


THE  OEVINNE  PHE58. 


TO 
CALE  YOUNG  KICE 

WHO   TAUGHT  ME  THE  SECRET 

OF  PLUCKING  ROSES  FROM 

A  CABBAGE  PATCH 


912940 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

i  A  CACTUS-PLANT 3 

ii  A  RUNAWAY  COUPLE 18 

in  THE  HAZY  HOUSEHOLD 39 

iv  AN  ACCIDENT  AND  AN  INCIDENT 54 

v  THE  DAWN  OF  A  ROMANCE 63 

vi  THE  LOSING  OF  MR.  STUBBINS 78 

vii  NEIGHBORLY  ADVICE 94 

vni  A  DENOMINATIONAL  GARDEN 102 

ix  LABOR  DAY 117 

x  A  TIMELY  VISIT 128 

xi  THE  CHRISTMAS  PLAY 141 

xn  REACTION 161 

xin  AN  HONORABLE  RETREAT 175 

xiv  THE  CACTUS  BLOOMS  .  .  184 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS 

PAGE 

"  They  met  at  the  pump." Frontispiece 

"  '  Now  the  Lord  meant  you  to  be  plain. ; "      ,     .      1 
u  '  Come  here,  Tom,  and  kiss  your  mother. ' "  .     .     21 

"  *  'T  ain't  no  street  .  .  . ;  this  here  is  the 
Cabbage  Patch."' 37 

"  She  puffed  her  hair  at  the  top  and  sides. "     .     .    51 

"  '  She  took  on  mighty  few  airs  fer  a  person  in 
mournin'. '" 59 

"  She  sat  on  the  door-step,  white  and  miserable."    67 

"Mrs.  Wiggs  took  pictures  from  her  walls  and 
chairs  from  her  parlor  to  beautify  the  house 
ofHazy." 79 

"Mr.  Stubbins,  sitting  in  Mrs.  Wiggs's  most  com 
fortable  chair,  with  a  large  slice  of  pumpkin- 
pie  in  his  hand. " 83 

"'  Stick  out  yer  tongue.'" 107 

"Asia  held  out  her  hands,  which  were  covered 
with  warm  red  mitts. " 131 

"  Master  Robert  Redding  was  right  side  up  again, 
sobbing  himself  quiet  in  Lovey  Mary's  arms. "  137 
xi 


List  of  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

"  '  Have  you  ever  acted  any  f '  he  asked.  "...  143 
"  Europena  stepped  forward.  " 151 

"  Sang  in  a  high,  sweet  voice,  '  I  Need  Thee  Every 
Hour.'" 157 

"  '  Have  n't  you  got  any  place  you  could  go  to  ? ' n  167 

Susie  Smithers  at  the  keyhole 177 

"  Lovey  Mary  waved  until  she  rounded  a  curve.  n  195 


xii 


LOVEY 


LOVET   MARY 

CHAPTER   I 

A   CACTUS-PLANT 

For  life,  with  all  it  yields  of  joy  and  woe, 
And  hope  and  fear,    .    .    . 

Is  just  our  chance  o'  the  prize  of  learning  love, — 
How  love  might  be,  hath  been  indeed,  and  is. 

BROWNING'S  "A  Death  in  the  Desert." 

]  VERYTHING  about  Lo- 
vey  Mary  was  a  contra 
diction,  from  her  hands 
and  feet,  which  seemed 
to  have  been  meant  for 
a  big  girl,  to  her  high  ideals  and  aspira 
tions,  that  ought  to  have  belonged  to  an 
amiable  one.  The  only  ingredient  which 
might  have  reconciled  all  the  conflicting 
elements  in  her  chaotic  little  bosom  was 
3 


Lovey  Mary 

one  which  no  one  had  ever  taken  the 
trouble  to  supply. 

When  Miss  Bell,  the  matron  of  the 
home,  came  to  receive  Lovey  Mary's 
confession  of  repentance,  she  found  her 
at  an  up-stairs  window  making  hideous 
faces  and  kicking  the  furniture.  The 
depth  of  her  repentance  could  always 
he  gaged  by  the  violence  of  her  conduct. 
Miss  Bell  looked  at  her  as  she  would 
have  looked  at  one  of  the  hieroglyphs 
on  the  Obelisk.  She  had  been  trying  to 
decipher  her  for  thirteen  years. 

Miss  Bell  was  stout  and  prim,  a  com 
bination  which  was  surely  never  in 
tended  by  nature.  Her  gray  dress  and 
tight  linen  collar  and  cuffs  gave  the  un 
comfortable  impression  of  being  sewed 
on,  while  her  rigid  black  water-waves 
seemed  irrevocably  painted  upon  her 
high  forehead.  She  was  a  routinist ;  she 
believed  in  system,  she  believed  in  or- 
4 


A  Cactus-Plant 

der,  and  she  believed  that  godliness  was 
akin  to  cleanliness.  When  she  found 
an  exception  to  a  rule  she  regarded 
the  exception  in  the  light  of  an  error. 
As  she  stood,  brush  in  hand,  before 
Lovey  Mary,  she  thought  for  the  hun 
dredth  time  that  the  child  was  an  excep 
tion. 

" Stand  up,"  she  said  firmly  but  not 
unkindly.  "I  thought  you  had  too 
much  sense  to  do  your  hair  that  way. 
Come  back  to  the  bath-room,  and  I  will 
arrange  it  properly." 

Lovey  Mary  gave  a  farewell  kick  at 
the  wall  before  she  followed  Miss  Bell. 
One  side  of  her  head  was  covered  with 
tight  black  ringlets,  and  the  other 
bristled  with  curl-papers. 

"When  I  was  a  little  girl,"  said  Miss 

Bell,  running  the  wet  comb  ruthlessly 

through    the    treasured     curls,     "the 

smoother  my  hair  was  the  better  I  liked 

5 


Lovey  Mary 

it.  I  used  to  brush  it  down  with  soap 
and  water  to  make  it  stay." 

Lovey  Mary  looked  at  the  water- 
waves  and  sighed. 

"If  you  're  ugly  you  never  can  get 
married  with  anybody,  can  you,  Miss 
Bell?"  she  asked  in  a  spirit  of  earnest 
inquiry. 

Miss  Bell's  back  became  stiffer,  if 
possible,  than  before. 

"Marriage  is  n't  the  only  thing  in 
the  world.  The  homelier  you  are  Uie 
better  chance  you  have  of  being  good. 
Now  the  Lord  meant  you  to  be  plain" 
—assisting  Providence  by  drawing  the 
braids  so  tight  that  the  girl's  eyebrows 
were  elevated  with  the  strain.  "If  he 
had  meant  you  to  have  curls  he  would 
have  given  them  to  you." 

"Well,  did  n't  he  want  me  to  have  a 
mother  and  father?"  burst  forth  Lovey 
Mary,  indignantly,  "  or  clothes,  or 
6 


11.1 


Now  the  Lord  meant  you  to  be  plain. 


A  Cactus-Plant 

money,  or  nothing?  Can't  I  ever  get 
nothing  at  all  'cause  I  was  n't  started 
out  with  nothing?" 

Miss  Bell  was  too  shocked  to  reply. 
She  gave  a  final  brush  to  the  sleek,  wet 
head  and  turned  sorrowfully  away. 
Lovey  Mary  ran  after  her  and  caught 
her  hand. 

"I  'm  sorry,"  she  cried  impulsively. 
' 1 1  want  to  be  good.  Please— please— '  * 

Miss  Bell  drew  her  hand  away  coldly. 
"  You  need  n't  go  to  Sabbath-school  this 
morning,"  she  said  in  an  injured  tone; 
"you  can  stay  here  and  think  over  what 
you  have  said.  I  am  not  angry  with 
you.  I  never  allow  myself  to  get  angry. 
I  don't  understand,  that  's  all.  You  are 
such  a  good  girl  about  some  things  and 
so  unreasonable  about  others.  With  a 
good  home,  good  clothes,  and  kind  treat 
ment,  what  else  could  a  girl  want!" 

Eeceiving  no  answer  to  this  inquiry, 
9 


Lovey  Mary 

Miss  Bell  adjusted  her  cuffs  and  de 
parted  with  the  conviction  that  she  had 
done  all  that  was  possible  to  throw  light 
upon  a  dark  subject. 

Lovey  Mary,  left  alone,  shed  bitter 
tears  on  her  clean  gingham  dress.  Thir 
teen  years  ought  to  reconcile  a  person 
even  to  gingham  dresses  with  white 
china  buttons  down  the  back,  and  round 
straw  hats  bought  at  wholesale.  But 
Lovey  Mary's  rebellion  of  spirit  was 
something  that  time  only  served  to  in 
crease.  It  had  started  with  Kate  Rider, 
who  used  to  pinch  her,  and  laugh  at  her, 
and  tell  the  other  girls  to  "  get  on  to 
her  curves. "  Curves  had  signified 
something  dreadful  to  Lovey  Mary; 
she  would  have  experienced  real  relief 
could  she  have  known  that  she  did  not 
possess  any.  It  was  not  Kate  Rider, 
however,  who  was  causing  the  present 
tears ;  she  had  left  the  home  two  years 
10 


A  Cactus-Plant 

before,  and  her  name  was  not  allowed 
to  be  mentioned  even  in  whispers. 
Neither  was  it  rebellion  against  the 
work  that  had  cast  Lovey  Mary  into 
such  depths  of  gloom;  fourteen  beds 
had  been  made,  fourteen  heads  had  been 
combed,  and  fourteen  wriggling  little 
bodies  had  been  cheerfully  buttoned 
into  starchy  blue  ginghams  exactly  like 
her  own. 

Something  deeper  and  more  mysteri 
ous  was  fermenting  in  her  soul— some 
thing  that  made  her  long  passionately 
for  the  beautiful  things  of  life,  for  love 
and  sympathy  and  happiness;  some 
thing  that  made  her  want  to  be  good, 
yet  tempted  her  constantly  to  rebel 
against  her  environs.  It  was  just  the 
world-old  spirit  that  makes  the  veriest 
little  weed  struggle  through  a  chink  in 
the  rock  and  reach  upward  toward  the 
sun. 

11 


Lovey  Mary 

4  *  What  's  the  matter  with  your  hair, 
Lovey  Mary"?  It  looks  so  funny, " 
asked  a  small  girl,  coming  up  the  steps. 

"If  anybody  asts  you,  tell  'em  you 
don't  know,"  snapped  Lovey  Mary. 

"Well,  Miss  Bell  says  for  you  to 
come  down  to  the  office, ' '  said  the  other, 
unabashed.  "There  's  a  lady  down 
there— a  lady  and  a  baby.  Me  and 
Susie  peeked  in.  Miss  Bell  made  the 
lady  cry;  she  made  her  wipe  the  pow 
ders  off  her  compleshun." 

"And  she  sent  for  me?"  asked  Lovey 
Mary,  incredulously.  Such  a  ripple  in 
the  still  waters  of  the  home  was  suffi 
cient  to  interest  the  most  disconsolate. 

"Yes;  and  me  and  Susie  's  going  to 
peek  some  more." 

Lovey  Mary  dried  her  tears  and  hur 
ried  down  to  the  office.  As  she  stood 
at  the  door  she  heard  a  girl's  excited 
voice  protesting  and  begging,  and  Miss 
12 


A  Cactus-Plant 

Bell's  placid  tones  attempting  to  calm 
her.  They  paused  as  she  entered. 

"Mary,"  said  Miss  Bell,  "you  re 
member  Kate  Eider.  She  has  brought 
her  child  for  us  to  take  care  of  for  a 
while.  Have  you  room  for  him  in  your 
division?" 

As  Lovey  Mary  looked  at  the  gaily 
dressed  girl  on  the  sofa,  her  animosity 
rekindled.  It  was  not  Kate's  bold 
black  eyes  that  stirred  her  wrath,  nor 
the  hard  red  lips  that  recalled  the  taunts 
of  other  days:  it  was  the  sight  of  the 
auburn  curls  gathered  in  tantalizing 
profusion  under  the  brim  of  the  showy 
hat. 

"Mary,  answer  my  question!"  said 
Miss  Bell,  sharply. 

With  an  involuntary  shudder  of  re 
pugnance  Lovey  Mary  drew  her  gaze 
from  Kate  and  murmured,  "Yes,  ?m." 

"Then  you  can  take  the  baby  with 
13 


Lovey  Mary 

you,"  continued  Miss  Bell,  motioning 
to  the  sleeping  child.  "But  wait  a 
moment.  I  think  I  will  put  Jennie  at 
the  head  of  your  division  and  let  you 
have  entire  charge  of  this  little  boy. 
He  is  only  a  year  old,  Kate  tells  me,  so 
will  need  constant  attention." 

Lovey  Mary  was  about  to  protest, 
when  Kate  broke  in: 

"Oh,  say,  Miss  Bell,  please  get  some 
other  girl!  Tommy  never  would  like 
Lovey.  He  's  just  like  me:  if  people 
ain't  pretty,  he  don't  have  no  use 
for  'em." 

"That  will  do,  Kate,"  said  Miss  Bell, 
coldly.  "It  is  only  pity  for  the  child 
that  makes  me  take  him  at  all.  You 
have  forfeited  all  claim  upon  our  sym 
pathy  or  patience.  Mary,  take  the  baby 
up-stairs  and  care  for  him  until  I 
come. ' ' 

Lovey  Mary,  hot  with  rebellion, 
14 


A  Cactus-Plant 

picked  him  up  and  went  out  of  the 
room.  At  the  door  she  stumbled 
against  two  little  girls  who  were  listen 
ing  at  the  keyhole. 

Up-stairs  in  the  long  dormitory  it 
was  very  quiet.  The  children  had  been 
marched  away  to  Sunday-school,  and 
only  Lovey  Mary  and  the  sleeping  baby 
were  on  the  second  floor.  The  girl  sat 
beside  the  little  white  bed  and  hated 
the  world  as  far  as  she  knew  it:  she 
hated  Kate  for  adding  this  last  insult 
to  the  old  score;  she  hated  Miss  Bell 
for  putting  this  new  burden  on  her  un 
willing  shoulders ;'  she  hated  the  burden 
itself,  lying  there  before  her  so  serene 
and  unconcerned;  and  most  of  all  she 
hated  herself. 

' '  I  wisht  I  was  dead ! ' '  she  cried  pas 
sionately.  "The  harder  I  try  to  be 
good  the  meaner  I  get.  Everybody 
blames  me,  and  everybody  makes  fun 
15 


Lovey  Mary 

of  me.  Ugly  old  face,  and  ugly  old 
hands,  and  straight  old  rat-tail  hair !  It 
ain't  no  wonder  that  nobody  loves  me. 
I  just  wisht  I  was  dead!" 

The  sunshine  came  through  the  win 
dow  and  made  a  big  white  patch  on  the 
bare  floor,  but  Lovey  Mary  sat  in  the 
shadow  and  disturbed  the  Sunday  quiet 
by  her  heavy  sobbing. 

At  noon,  when  the  children  returned, 
the  noise  of  their  arrival  woke  Tommy. 
He  opened  his  round  eyes  on  a  strange 
world,  and  began  to  cry  lustily.  One 
child  after  another  tried  to  pacify  him, 
but  each  friendly  advance  increased  his 
terror. 

66 Leave  him  be!"  cried  Lovey  Mary. 
*  *  Them  hats  is  enough  to  skeer  him  into 
fits. ' '  She  picked  him  up,  and  with  the 
knack  born  of  experience  soothed  and 
comforted  him.  The  baby  hid  his  face 
on  her  shoulder  and  held  her  tight.  She 
16 


A  Cactus-Plant 

could  feel  the  sobs  that  still  shook  the 
small  body,  and  his  tears  were  on  her 
cheek. 

" Never  mind,"  she  said.  "I  ain't 
a-going  to  let  'em  hurt  you.  I  'm  going 
to  take  care  of  you.  Don't  cry  any 
more.  Look ! ' ' 

She  stretched  forth  her  long,  un 
shapely  hand  and  made  grotesque 
snatches  at  the  sunshine  that  poured 
in  through  the  window.  Tommy  hesi 
tated  and  was  lost;  a  smile  struggled 
to  the  surface,  then  broke  through  the 
tears. 

"Look!  He  's  laughing!"  cried 
Lovey  Mary,  gleefully.  "He  's  laugh 
ing  'cause  I  ketched  a  sunbeam  for 
him!" 

Then  she  bent  impulsively  and  kissed 
the  little  red  lips  so  close  to  her  own. 


17 


CHAPTER   II 

A   KUNAWAY    COUPLE 
"  Courage  mounteth  with  occasion." 

|  OR  two  years  Lovey 
Mary  cared  for  Tommy : 
she  bathed  him  and 
dressed  him,  taught  him 
to  walk,  and  kissed  his 
bumps  to  make  them  well;  she  sewed 
for  him  and  nursed  him  by  day,  and 
slept  with  him  in  her  tired  arms  at 
night.  And  Tommy,  with  the  inscrut 
able  philosophy  of  childhood,  accepted 
his  little  foster-mother  and  gave  her  his 
all. 

One  bright  June  afternoon  the  two 

were  romping  in  the  home  yard  under 

the  beech-trees.    Lovey  Mary  lay  in  the 

grass,  while  Tommy  threw  handfuls  of 

18 


A  Runaway  Couple 

leaves  in  her  face,  laughing  with  delight 
at  her  grimaces.  Presently  the  gate 
clicked,  and  some  one  came  toward 
them. 

' '  Good  land !  is  that  my  kid  1 ' '  said  a 
woman  ?s  voice.  '  '  Come  here,  Tom,  and 
kiss  your  mother. " 

Lovey  Mary,  sitting  up,  found  Kate 
Eider,  in  frills  and  ribbons,  looking 
with  surprise  at  the  sturdy  child  before 
her. 

Tommy  objected  violently  to  this  sud 
den  overture  and  declined  positively  to 
acknowledge  the  relationship.  In  fact, 
when  Kate  attempted  to  pull  him  to 
her,  he  fled  for  protection  to  Lovey 
Mary  and  cast  belligerent  glances  at  the 
intruder. 

Kate  laughed. 

"Oh,  you  need  n't  be  so  scary;  you 
might  as  well  get  used  to  me,  for  I  am 
going  to  take  you  home  with  me.  I  bet 
19 


Lovey  Mary 

he  's  a  corker,  ain't  he,  Lovey?  He 
used  to  bawl  all  night.  Sometimes  I  'd 
have  to  spank  him  two  or  three  times. ' ' 

Lovey  Mary  clasped  the  child  closer 
and  looked  up  in  dumb  terror.  Was 
Tommy  to  be  taken  from  her?  Tommy 
to  go  away  with  Kate? 

'  <  Great  Scott !"  exclaimed  Kate,  ex 
asperated  at  the  girl's  manner.  "You 
are  just  as  ugly  and  foolish  as  you  used 
to  be.  I  'm  going  in  to  see  Miss  Bell. ' ' 

Lovey  Mary  waited  until  she  was  in 
the  house,  then  she  stole  noiselessly 
around  to  the  office  window.  The  cur 
tain  blew  out  across  her  cheek,  and  the 
swaying  lilacs  seemed  to  be  trying  to 
count  the  china  buttons  on  her  back; 
but  she  stood  there  with  staring  eyes 
and  parted  lips,  and  held  her  breath  to 
listen. 

"Of  course,"  Miss  Bell  was  saying, 
measuring  her  words  with  due  preci- 
20 


A  Runaway  Couple 

sion,  "if  you  feel  that  you  can  now  sup 
port  your  child  and  that  it  is  your  duty 
to  take  him,  we  cannot  object.  There 
are  many  other  children  waiting  to  come 
into  the  home.  And  yet—  "  Miss  Bell's 
voice  sounded  human  and  unnatural— 
"yet  I  wish  he  could  stay.  Have  you 
thought,  Kate,  of  your  responsibility 
toward  him,  of— ' ' 

"  Oh !  Ough ! ' '  shrieked  Tommy  from 
the  playground,  in  tones  of  distress. 

Lovey  Mary  left  her  point  of  vantage 
and  rushed  to  the  rescue.  She  found 
him  emitting  frenzied  yells,  while  a  tiny 
stream  of  blood  trickled  down  his  chin. 

"It  was  my  little  duck,"  he  gasped 
as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  speak.  "I 
was  tissin'  him,  an'  he  bited  me." 

At  thought  of  the  base  ingratitude  on 

.:  *X8 

the  part  of  the  duck,  Tommy  wailed 
anew.    Lovey  Mary  led  him  to  the  hy 
drant  and  bathed  the  injured  lip,  while 
23 


Lovey  Mary 

she  soothed  his  feelings.  Suddenly  a 
wave  of  tenderness  swept  over  her.  She 
held  his  chubby  face  up  to  hers  and  said 
fervently : 

*  *  Tommy,  do  you  love  me?" 

"Yes,"  said  Tommy,  with  a  re 
proachful  eye  on  the  duck.  "Yes;  I 
yuv  to  yuv.  I  don't  yuv  to  tiss, 
though!" 

"But  me,  Tommy,  me.  Do  you  love 
me?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered  gravely,  "dollar 
an'  a  half." 

"Whose  little  boy  are  you?" 

"Yuvey's  'e  boy." 

Satisfied  with  this  catechism,  she  put 
Tommy  in  care  of  another  girl  and  went 
back  to  her  post  at  the  window.  Miss 
Bell  was  talking  again. 

"I  will  have  him.  ready  to-morrow 
afternoon  when  you  come.  His  clothes 
are  all  in  good  condition.  I  only  hope, 
24 


A  Runaway  Couple, 

Kate,  that  you  will  care  for  him  as  ten 
derly  as  Mary  has.  I  am  afraid  he  will 
miss  her  sadly. ' ' 

"If  he  's  like  me,  he  '11  forget  about 
her  in  two  or  three  days, ' '  answered  the 
other  voice.  "It  always  was  'out  of 
sight,  out  of  mind'  with  me." 

Miss  Bell's  answer  was  indistinct., 
and  in  a  few  minutes  Lovey  Mary  heard 
the  hall  door  close  behind  them.  She 
shook  her  fists  until  the  lilacs  trembled. 
' '  She  sha'n't  have  him ! ' '  she  whispered 
fiercely.  "She  sha'n't  let  him  grow  up 
wicked  like  she  is.  I  won't  let  him  go. 
I  '11  hide  him,  I  '11-" 

Suddenly  she  grew  very  still,  and  for 
a  long  time  crouched  motionless  behind 
the  bushes.  The  problem  that  faced  her 
had  but  one  solution,  and  Lovey  Mary 
had  found  it. 

The  next  morning  when  the  sun 
climbed  over  the  tree-tops  and  peered 
25 


Lovey  Mary 

into  the  dormitory  windows  he  found 
that  somebody  else  had  made  an  early 
rise.  Lovey  Mary  was  sitting  by  a 
wardrobe  making  her  last  will  and  testa 
ment.  From  the  neatly  folded  pile  of 
linen  she  selected  a  few  garments  and 
tied  them  into  a  bundle.  Then  she  took 
out  a  cigar-box  and  gravely  contem 
plated  the  contents.  There  were  two 
narrow  hair-ribbons  which  had  evi 
dently  been  one  wide  ribbon,  a  bit  of 
rock  crystal,  four  paper  dolls,  a  soiled 
picture-book  with  some  other  little 
girPs  name  scratched  out  on  the  cover, 
and  two  shining  silver  dollars.  These 
composed  Lovey  Mary's  worldly  pos 
sessions.  She  tied  the  money  in  her 
handkerchief  and  put  it  in  her  pocket, 
then  got  up  softly  and  slipped  about 
among  the  little  white  beds,  distributing 
her  treasures. 

6 1  I  'm  mad  at  Susie, ' '  she  whispered, 
26 


A  Runaway  Couple 

pausing  before  a  tousled  head;  "I  hate 
to  give  her  the  nicest  thing  I  've  got. 
But  she  's  just  crazy  'bout  picture- 
books.  " 

The  curious  sun  climbed  yet  a  little 
higher  and  saw  Lovey  Mary  go  back  to 
her  own  bed,  and,  rolling  Tommy's 
clothes  around  her  own  bundle,  gather 
the  sleeping  child  in  her  arms  and  steal 
quietly  out  of  the  room.  Then  the  sun 
got  too  high  up  in  the  heavens  to  watch 
little  runaway  orphan  girls.  Nobody 
saw  her  steal  through  the  deserted  play 
room,  down  the  clean  bare  steps,  which 
she  had  helped  to  wear  away,  and  out 
through  the  yard  to  the  coal-shed.  Here 
she  got  the  reluctant  Tommy  into  his 
clothes,  and  tied  on  his  little  round 
straw  hat,  so  absurdly  like  her  own. 

"Is  we  playin'  hie-spy,  Yuveyf" 
asked  the  mystified  youngster. 

' '  Yes,  Tommy, ' '  she  whispered,  ' i  and 
27 


Lovey  Mary 

we  are  going  a  long  way  to  hide.  You 
are  my  little  boy  now,  and  you  must 
love  me  better  than  anything  in  the 
world.  Say  it,  Tommy ;  say,  '  I  love  you 
better  'n  anybody  in  the  whole  world. ' 

"Will  I  det  on  de  rollin'  honor?" 
asked  Tommy,  thinking  he  was  learn 
ing  his  golden  text. 

But  Lovey  Mary  had  forgotten  her 
question.  She  was  taking  a  farewell 
look  at  the  home,  every  nook  and  cor 
ner  of  which  had  suddenly  grown  dear. 
Already  she  seemed  a  thing  apart,  one 
having  no  right  to  its  shelter  and  pro 
tection.  She  turned  to  where  Tommy 
was  playing  with  some  sticks  in  the  cor 
ner,  and  bidding  him  not  to  stir  or 
speak  until  her  return,  she  slipped  back 
up  the  walk  and  into  the  kitchen. 
Swiftly  and  quietly  she  made  a  fire  in 
the  stove  and  filled  the  kettle  with 
water.  Then  she  looked  about  for  some- 
28 


A  Runaway  Couple 

thing  more  she  might  do.  On  the  table 
lay  the  grocery  book  with  a  pencil  at 
tached.  She  thought  a  moment,  then 
wrote  laboriously  under  the  last  order: 
"Miss  Bell  I  will  take  kere  Tommy 
pleas  dont  bo  mad."  Then  she  softly 
closed  the  door  behind  her. 

A  few  minutes  later  she  lifted 
Tommy  out  of  the  low  shed  window, 
and  hurried  him  down  the  alley  and  out 
into  the  early  morning  streets.  At  the 
corner  they  took  a  car,  and  Tommy 
knelt  by  the  window  and  absorbed  the 
sights  with  rapt  attention;  to  him  the 
adventure  was  beginning  brilliantly. 
Even  Lovey  Mary  experienced  a  sense 
of  exhilaration  when  she  paid  their  fare 
out  of  one  of  the  silver  dollars.  She 
knew  the  conductor  was  impressed,  be 
cause  he  said,  "You  better  watch  Bud 
dy's  hat,  ma'am."  That  "ma'am" 
pleased  her  profoundly;  it  caused  her 
29 


Lovey  Mary 

unconsciously  to  assume  Miss  Bell's 
tone  and  manner  as  she  conversed  with 
the  back  of  Tommy's  head. 

"We  '11  go  out  on  the  avenue,"  she 
said.  "We  '11  go  from  house  to  house 
till  I  get  work.  'Most  anybody  would 
be  glad  to  get  a  handy  girl  that  can 
cook  and  wash  and  sew,  only— I  ain't 
very  big,  and  then  there  's  you. ' ' 

"Ain't  that  a  big  house?"  shouted 
Tommy,  half  way  out  of  the  window. 

"  Yes ;  don 't  talk  so  loud.  That  's  the 
court-house. ' ' 

"Where  they  make  court-plaster  at?" 
inquired  Tommy  shrilly. 

Lovey  Mary  glanced  around  uneasily. 
She  hoped  the  old  man  in  the  corner 
had  not  heard  this  benighted  remark. 
All  went  well  until  the  car  reached  the 
terminal  station.  Here  Tommy  refused 
to  get  off.  In  vain  Lovey  Mary  coaxed 
and  threatened. 

30 


A  Runaivay  Couple 

"It  '11  take  us  right  back  to  the 
home,"  she  pleaded.  "Be  a  good  boy 
and  come  with  Lovey.  I  '11  buy  you 
something  nice." 

Tommy  remained  obdurate.  He  be 
lieved  in  letting  well  enough  alone.  The 
joys  of  a  street-car  ride  were  present 
and  tangible;  "something  nice"  was 
vague,  unsatisfying. 

"Don't  yer  little  brother  want  to  git 
off?"  asked  the  conductor,  sympatheti 
cally. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Lovey  Mary,  trying 
to  maintain  her  dignity  while  she 
struggled  with  her  charge.  "If  you 
please,  sir,  would  you  mind  holding  his 
feet  while  I  loosen  his  hands!" 

Tommy,  shrieking  indignant  protests, 
was  borne  from  the  car  and  deposited 
on  the  sidewalk. 

"Don't  you  dare  get  limber!"  threat 
ened  Lovey  Mary.  "If  you  do  I  '11 
31 


Lovey  Mary 

spank  you  right  here  on  the  street. 
Stand  up !  Straighten  out  your  legs ! 
Tommy!  do  you  hear  me?" 

Tommy  might  have  remained  limp 
indefinitely  had  not  a  hurdy-gurdy  op 
portunely  arrived  on  the  scene.  It  is 
true  that  he  would  go  only  in  the 
direction  of  the  music,  but  Lovey 
Mary  was  delighted  to  have  him 
go  at  all.  When  at  last  they  were 
headed  for  the  avenue,  Tommy  caused 
another  delay. 

"I  want  my  ducky/'  he  announced. 

The  words  brought  consternation  to 
Lovey  Mary.  She  had  fearfully  antici 
pated  them  from  the  moment  of  leaving 
the  home. 

"I  '11  buy  you  a  'tend-like  duck,"  she 
said. 

' i  No ;  I  want  a  sure-  'nough  ducky ;  I 
want  mine." 

Lovey  Mary  was  exasperated.    i  i  "Well, 
32 


A  Runaway  Couple 

you  can't  have  yours.  I  can't  get 
it  for  you,  and  you  might  as  well 
hush." 

His  lips  trembled,  and  two  large  tears 
rolled  down  his  round  cheeks.  When 
he  was  injured  he  was  irresistible. 
Lovey  Mary  promptly  surrendered. 

"  Don't  cry,  baby  boy !  Lovey  '11  get 
you  one  someway." 

For  some  time  the  quest  of  the  duck 
was  fruitless.  The  stores  they  entered 
were  wholesale  houses  for  the  most 
part,  where  men  were  rolling  barrels 
about  or  stacking  skins  and  hides  on  the 
sidewalk. 

"Do  you  know  what  sort  of  a  store 
they  sell  ducks  at!"  asked  Lovey  Mary 
of  a  colored  man  who  was  sweeping  out 
an  office. 

"Ducks!"  repeated  the  negro,  grin 
ning  at  the  queerly  dressed  children  in 
their  round  straw  hats.  "Name  o'  de 
33 


Lovey  Mary 

Lawd!  What  do  you  all  want  wif 
ducks  !" 

Lovey  Mary  explained. 

< '  Would  n't  a  kitten  do  jes  as  well?" 
he  asked  kindly. 

' '  I  want  my  ducky, ' '  whined  Tommy, 
showing  signs  of  returning  storm. 

"I  don'  see  no  way  'cept'n'  gwine  to 
de  mahket.  Efen  you  tek  de  cah  you 
kin  ride  plumb  down  dere. ' ' 

Recent  experience  had  taught  Lovey 
Mary  to  be  wary  of  street-cars,  so  they 
walked.  At  the  market  they  found  some 
ducks.  The  desired  objects  were  hang 
ing  in  a  bunch  with  their  limp  heads 
tied  together.  Further  inquiry,  how 
ever,  discovered  some  live  ones  in  a 
coop. 

"They  're  all  mama  ducks,"  objected 
Tommy.  "I  want  a  baby  ducky.  I 
want  my  little  ducky ! ' ' 

When  he  found  he  could  do  no  better, 
34 


A  Runaway  Couple 

he  decided  to  take  one  of  the  large  ones. 
Then  he  said  he  was  hungry,  so  he  and 
Mary  took  turn  about  holding  it  while 
the  other  ate  upo?  man's  pickle "  and 
wienerwurst. 

It  was  two  o'clock  by  the  time  they 
reached  the  avenue,  and  by  four  they 
were  foot-sore  and  weary,  but  they 
trudged  bravely  along  from  house  to 
house  asking  for  work.  As  dusk  came 
on,  the  houses,  which  a  few  squares  back 
had  been  tall  and  imposing,  seemed  to 
be  getting  smaller  and  more  insignifi 
cant.  Lovey  Mary  felt  secure  as  long- 
as  she  was  on  the  avenue.  She  did  not 
know  that  the  avenue  extended  for 
many  miles  and  that  she  had  reached 
the  frayed  and  ragged  end  of  it.  She 
and  Tommy  passed  under  a  bridge,  and 
after  that  the  houses  all  seemed  to  be 
have  queerly.  Some  faced  one  way, 
some  another,  and  crisscross  between 
35 


Lovey  Mary 

them,  in  front  of  them,  and  behind  them 
ran  a  network  of  railroad  tracks. 

"What  's  the  name  of  this  street?" 
asked  Lovey  Mary  of  a  small,  bare 
footed  girl. 

"  'T  ain't  no  street,"  answered  the 
little  girl,  gazing  with  undisguised 
amazement  at  the  strange-looking 
couple;  "this  here  is  the  Cabbage 
Patch." 


36 


CHAPTER   III 


THE  HAZY  HOUSEHOLD 

"Here  sovereign  Dirt  erects  her  sable  throne, 
The  house,  the  host,  the  hostess  all  her  own." 

ISS  HAZY  was  the  sub 
merged  tenth  of  the 
Cabbage  Patch.  The 
submersion  was  mainly 
one  of  dirt  and  disor 
der,  but  Miss  Hazy  was  such  a  meek, 
inefficient  little  -body  that  the  Cabbage 
Patch  withheld  its  blame  and  patiently 
tried  to  furnish  a  prop  for  the  clinging 
vine.  Miss  Hazy,  it  is  true,  had  Chris ; 
but  Chris  was  unstable,  not  only  because 
he  had  lost  one  leg,  but  also  because  he 
was  the  wildest,  noisiest,  most  thought 
less  youngster  that  ever  shied  a  rock  at 
3  L  39 


Lovey  Mary 

a  lamp-post.  Miss  Hazy  had  "raised" 
Chris,  and  the  neighbors  had  raised 
Miss  Hazy. 

When  Lovey  Mary  stumbled  over  the 
Hazy  threshold  with  the  sleeping 
Tommy  and  the  duck  in  her  arms,  Miss 
Hazy  fluttered  about  in  dismay.  She 
pushed  the  flour-sifter  farther  over  on 
the  bed  and  made  a  place  for  Tommy, 
then  she  got  a  chair  for  the  exhausted 
girl  and  hovered  about  her  with  little 
chirps  of  consternation. 

*  'Dear  sakes !  You  're  done  tuckered 
out,  ain't  you?  You  an'  the  baby  got 
losted?  Ain't  that  too  bad!  Must  1 
make  you  some  tea?  Only  there  ain't 
no  fire  in  the  stove.  Dear  me !  what  ever 
will  I  do  ?  Jes  wait  a  minute ;  I  '11  have 
to  go  ast  Mis'  Wiggs." 

In  a  few  minutes  Miss  Hazy  returned. 
With  her  was  a  bright-faced  little 
woman  whose  smile  seemed  to  thaw  out 
40 


The  Hazy  Household 

the  frozen  places  in  Lovey  Mary's  heart 
and  make  her  burst  into  tears  on  the 
motherly  bosom. 

"  There  now,  there,"  said  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  hugging  the  girl  up  close  and 
patting  her  on  the  back;  "there  ain't 
no  hole  so  deep  can't  somebody  pull 
you  out.  An'  here  's  me  an'  Miss  Hazy 
jes  waitin'  to  give  you  a  h'ist." 

There  was  something  so  heartsome  in 
her  manner  that  Lovey  Mary  dried  her 
eyes  and  attempted  to  explain.  "I  'm 
tryin'  to  get  a  place,"  she  began,  "but 
nobody  wants  to  take  Tommy  too.  T 
can't  carry  him  any  further,  and  I  don't 
know  where  to  go,  and  it  's  'most 
night—"  again  the  sobs  choked  her. 

"Lawsee!"  said  Mrs.  Wiggs,  "don't 
you  let  that  worry  you!  I  can't  take 
you  home,  'cause  Asia  an'  Australia 
an'  Europeny  are  sleepin'  in  one  bed 
as  it  is;  but  you  kin  git  right  in 
41 


Lovey  Mary 

here  with  Miss  Hazy,  can't  she,  Miss 
Hazy?" 

The  hostess,  to  whom  Mrs.  Wiggs  was 
an  oracle,  acquiesced  heartily. 

"All  right:  that  's  fixed.  Now  I  '11 
go  home  an'  send  you  all  over  some 
nice,  hot  supper  by  Billy,  an'  to-morrow 
mornin'  will  be  time  enough  to  think 
things  out." 

Lovey  Mary,  too  exhausted  to  mind 
the  dirt,  ate  her  supper  off  a  broken 
plate,  then  climbed  over  behind  Tommy 
and  the  flour-sifter,  and  was  soon  fast 
asleep. 

The  business  meeting  next  morning 
"to  think  things  out"  resulted  satis 
factorily.  At  first  Mrs.  Wiggs  was  in 
clined  to  ask  questions  and  find  out 
where  the  children  came  from,  but  when 
she  saw  Lovey  Mary's  evident  distress 
and  embarrassment,  she  accepted  the 
statement  that  they  were  orphans  and 
42 


The  Hazy  Household 

that  the  girl  was  seeking  work  in  order 
to  take  care  of  herself  and  the  boy.  It 
had  come  to  be  an  unwritten  law  in  the 
Cabbage  Patch  that  as  few  questions  as 
possible  should  be  asked  of  strangers. 
People  had  come  there  before  who  could 
not  give  clear  accounts  of  themselves. 

"Now  I  '11  tell  you  what  I  think  '11  be 
best,"  said  Mrs.  Wiggs,  who  enjoyed 
untangling  snarls.  ' t  Asia  kin  take  Mary 
up  to  the  fact'ry  with  her  to-morrow, 
an'  see  if  she  kin  git  her  a  job.  I  'spect 
she  kin,  'cause  she  stands  right  in  with 
the  lady  boss.  Miss  Hazy,  me  an'  you 
kin  keep  a'  eye  on  the  baby  between  us. 
If  Mary  gits  a  place  she  kin  pay  you  so 
much  a  week,  an'  that  '11  help  us  all  out, 
'cause  then  we  won't  have  to  send  in  so 
many  outside  victuals.  If  she  could 
make  three  dollars  an'  Chris  three,  you 
all  could  git  along  right  peart." 

Lovey  Mary  stayed  in  the  house  most 
43 


Lovey  Mary 

of  the  day.  She  was  almost  afraid  to 
look  out  of  the  little  window,  for  fear 
she  should  see  Miss  Bell  or  Kate  Rider 
coming.  She  sat  in  the  only  chair  that 
had  a  bottom  and  diligently  worked  but 
tonholes  for  Miss  Hazy. 

" Looks  like  there  ain't  never  no  time 
to  clean  up, ' '  said  Miss  Hazy,  apologeti 
cally,  as  she  shoved  Chris's  Sunday 
clothes  and  a  can  of  coal-oil  behind  the 
door. 

Lovey  Mary  looked  about  her  and 
sighed  deeply.  The  room  was  brimful 
and  spilling  over:  trash,  tin  cans,  and 
bottles  overflowed  the  window-sills;  a 
crippled  rocking-chair,  with  a  faded 
quilt  over  it,  stood  before  the  stove,  in 
the  open  oven  of  which  Chris 's  shoe  was 
drying;  an  old  sewing-machine  stood 
in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  with  Miss 
Hazy's  sewing  on  one  end  of  it  and  the 
uncleared  dinner-dishes  on  the  other. 
44 


The  Hazy  Household 

Mary  could  not  see  under  the  bed,  but 
she  knew  from  the  day's  experience 
that  it  was  used  as  a  combination  store 
room  and  wardrobe.  She  thought  of 
the  home  with  its  bare,  clean  rooms  and 
its  spotless  floors.  She  rose  abruptly 
and  went  out  to  the  rear  of  the  house, 
where  Tommy  was  playing  with  Euro- 
pena  Wiggs.  They  were  absorbed  in 
trying  to  hitch  the  duck  to  a  spool-box, 
and  paid  little  attention  to  her. 

* 'Tommy,''  she  said,  clutching  his 
arm,  " don't  you  want  to  go  back!  " 

But  Tommy  had  tasted  freedom;  he 
had  had  one  blissful  day  unwashed,  un 
combed,  and  uncorrected. 

"No,"  he  declared  stoutly;  "I  'm 
doin'  to  stay  to  this  house  and  play  wiv 
You  're-a-peanut. ' ' 

"Then,"  said  Mary,  with  deep  resig 
nation,  "the  only  thing  for  me  to  do  is 
to  try  to  clean  things  up." 
45 


Lovey  Mary 

When  she  went  back  into  the  house 
she  untied  her  bundle  and  took  out  the 
remaining  dollar. 

' '  I  '11  be  back  soon, ' '  she  said  to  Miss 
Hazy  as  she  stepped  over  a  basket  of 
potatoes.  "I  'm  just  going  over  to 
Mrs.  Wiggs's  a  minute. " 

She  found  her  neighbor  alone,  get 
ting  supper.  "Please,  ma'am," — she 
plunged  into  her  subject  at  once,— 
"have  any  of  your  girls  a  dress  for 
sale?  I  Ve  got  a  dollar  to  buy  it." 

Mrs.  Wiggs  turned  the  girl  around 
and  surveyed  her  critically.  "Well,  I 
don't  know  as  I  blame  you  fer  wan  tin' 
to  git  shut  of  that  one.  There  ain't 
more  'n  room  enough  fer  one  leg  in  that 
skirt,  let  alone  two.  An'  what  was  the 
sense  in  them  big  shiny  buttons?" 

"I  don't  know  as  it  makes  much  dif 
ference,"  said  Lovey  Mary,  disconso 
lately;  "I   'm  so  ugly,  nothing  could 
make  me  look  nice. ' ' 
46 


The  Hazy  Household 

Mrs.  Wiggs  shook  her  by  the  shoul 
ders  good-naturedly.  "Now,  here," 
she  said,  "don't  you  go  an'  git  sorry 
fer  yerself !  That  's  one  thing  I  can't 
stand  in  nobody.  There  's  always  lots 
of  other  folks  you  kin  be  sorry  fer  'stid 
of  yerself.  Ain't  you  proud  you  ain't 
got  a  harelip?  Why,  that  one  thought 
is  enough  to  keep  me  from  ever  gittin' 
sorry  fer  myself." 

Mary  laughed,  and  Mrs.  Wiggs 
clapped  her  hands.  t '  That  's  what  yer 
face  needs— smiles !  I  never  see  any 
thing  make  such  a  difference.  But  now 
about  the  dress.  Yes,  indeed,  Asia  has 
got  dresses  to  give  'way.  She  gits  'em 
from  Mrs.  Beddin';  her  husband  is  Mr. 
Bob,  Billy's  boss.  He  's  a  newspaper 
editress  an'  rich  as  cream.  Mrs.  Red- 
din'  is  a  fallen  angel,  if  there  ever  was 
one  on  this  earth.  She  sends  all  sorts 
of  clothes  to  Asia,  an'  I  warm  'em  over 
an'  boil  'em  down  till  they  're  her  size. 
47 


Lovey  Mary 

Asia  Minor !"  she  called  to  a  girl  who 
was  coming  in  the  door,  "this  here  is 
Mary— Lovey  Mary  she  calls  herself, 
Miss  Hazy's  boarder.  Have  you  got  a 
dress  you  could  give  her  ? ' ' 

"I  'm  going  to  buy  it,"  said  Mary, 
immediately  on  the  defensive.  She  did 
not  want  them  to  think  for  a  moment 
that  she  was  begging.  She  would  show 
them  that  she  had  money,  that  she  was 
just  as  good  as  they  were. 

"Well,  maw,"  the  other  girl  was  say 
ing  in  a  drawling  voice  as  she  looked 
earnestly  at  Lovey  Mary,  * '  seems  to  me 
she  'd  look  purtiest  in  my  red  dress. 
Her  hair  's  so  nice  an'  black  an'  her 
teeth  so  white,  I  'low  the  red  would  look 
best." 

Mrs.  Wiggs  gazed  at  her  daughter 

with   adoring  eyes.     "Ain't  that  the 

artis'  stickin'  out  through  her?    Could 

n't  you  tell  she  handles  paints!    Up  at 

48 


The  Hazy  Household 

the  factory  she  's  got  a  fine  job,  paints 
flowers  an'  wreaths  on  to  bath-tubs. 
Yes,  indeed,  this  here  red  one  is  what 
you  must  have.  Keep  your  dollar, 
child;  the  dress  never  cost  us  a  cent. 
Here  's  a  nubia,  too,  you  kin  have ;  it  '11 
look  better  than  that  little  hat  you  had 
on  last  night.  That  little  hat  worried 
me;  it  looked  like  the  stopper  was  too 
little  fer  the  bottle.  There  now,  take 
the  things  right  home  with  you,  an'  to 
morrow  you  an*  Asia  kin  start  off  in 
style." 

Lovey  Mary,  flushed  with  the  intoxi 
cation  of  her  first  compliment,  went 
back  and  tried  on  the  dress.  Miss  Hazy 
got  so  interested  that  she  forgot  to  get 
supper. 

"You  look  so  nice  I  never  would  'a' 
knowed  you  in  the  world!"   she  de 
clared.     "You  don't  look  picked,  like 
you  did  in  that  other  dress." 
49 


Lovey  Mary 

"That  Wiggs  girl  said  I  looked  nice 
in  red,"  said  Lovey  Mary  tentatively. 

"You  do,  too,"  said  Miss  Hazy;  "it 
keeps  you  from  lookin*  so  corpsey.  I 
wisht  you  'd  do  somethin'  with  yer 
hair,  though;  it  puts  me  in  mind  of 
snakes  in  them  long  black  plaits." 

All  Lovey  Mary  needed  was  encour 
agement.  She  puffed  her  hair  at  the 
top  and  sides  and  tucked  it  up  in  the 
latest  fashion.  Tommy,  coming  in  at 
the  door,  did  not  recognize  her.  She 
laughed  delightedly. 

"Do  I  look  so  different?" 

"I  should  say  you  do,"  said  Miss 
Hazy,  admiringly,  as  she  spread  a  news 
paper  for  a  table-cloth.  "I  never  seen 
no  one  answer  to  primpin '  like  you  do. ' ' 

When  it  was  quite  dark  Lovey  Mary 
rolled  something  in  a  bundle  and  crept 
out  of  the  house.  After  glancing  cau 
tiously  up  and  down  the  tracks  she  made 
50 


"She  puffed  her  hair  at  the 
top  and  sides." 


The  Hazy  Household 

her  way  to  the  pond  on  the  commons 
and  dropped  her  bundle  into  the  shallow 
water. 

Next  day,  when  Mrs.  Schultz's  goat 
died  of  convulsions,  nobody  knew  it  was 
due  to  the  china  buttons  on  Lovey 
Mary's  gingham  dress. 


53 


CHAPTER   IV 


AN    ACCIDENT    AND    AN    INCIDENT 

•'Our  deeds  still  travel  with  us  from  afar, 
And  what  we  have  been  makes  us  what  we  are.' 


HROUGH  the  assistance 
of  Asia  Wiggs,  Lovey 
Mary  secured  pleasant 
and  profitable  work  at 
the  factory;  but  her 
mind  was  not  at  peace.  Of  course  it  was 
a  joy  to  wear  the  red  dress  and  arrange 
her  hair  a  different  way  each  morning, 
but  there  was  a  queer,  restless  little  feel 
ing  in  her  heart  that  spoiled  even  the 
satisfaction  of  looking  like  other  girls 
and  earning  three  dollars  a  week.  The 
very  fact  that  nobody  took  her  to  task, 
that  nobody  scolded  or  blamed  her, 
caused  her  to  ask  herself  disturbing 
54 


An  Accident  and  an  Incident 

questions.  Secret  perplexity  had  the 
same  effect  upon  her  that  it  has  upon 
many  who  are  older  and  wiser :  it  made 
her  cross. 

Two  days  after  she  started  to  work, 
Asia,  coming  down  from  the  decorating- 
room  for  lunch,  found  her  in  fiery  dis 
pute  with  a  red-haired  girl.  There  had 
been  an  accident  in  front  of  the  factory, 
and  the  details  were  under  discussion. 

"Well,  I  know  all  about  it,"  declared 
the  red-haired  girl,  excitedly,  1 1  'cause 
my  sister  was  the  first  one  that  got  to 
her." 

"Is  your  sister  a  nigger  named  Jim 
Brown?"  asked  Lovey  Mary,  deri 
sively.  "Everybody  says  he  was  the 
first  one  got  there." 

"Was  there  blood  on  her  head?" 
asked  Asia,  trying  to  stem  the  tide  of 
argument. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  the  first  speaker; 
55 


Lovey  Mary 

"on  her  head  an'  on  her  hands,  too.  I 
hanged  on  the  steps  when  they  was  put- 
tin  '  her  in  the  amhalance-wagon,  an' 
she  never  knowed  a  bloomin'  thing!" 

"Why  did  n't  you  go  on  with  them 
to  the  hospital!"  asked  Lovey  Mary. 
"I  don't  see  how  the  doctors  could  get 
along  without  you." 

"Oh,  you  're  just  mad  'cause  you 
did  n  't  see  her.  She  was  awful  pretty ! 
Had  on  a  black  hat  with  a  white  feather 
in  it,  but  it  got  in  the  mud.  They  say 
she  had  a  letter  in  her  pocket  with  her 
name  on  it." 

"I  thought  maybe  she  come  to  long 
enough  to  tell  you  her  name,"  teased 
her  tormentor. 

"Well,  I  do  know  it,  Smarty,"  re 
torted  the  other,  sharply:  "it  's  Miss 
Kate  Eider." 

Meanwhile    in    the    Cabbage    Patch 
Miss  Hazy  and  Mrs.  Wiggs  were  hold 
ing  a  consultation  over  the  fence. 
56 


An  Accident  and  an  Incident 


"She  come  over  to  my  house  first, " 
Mrs.  Wiggs  was  saying,  dramatically 
illustrating  her  remarks  with  two  tin 
cans.  "This  is  me  here,  an'  I  looks  up 
an'  seen  the  old  lady  standin'  over 
there.  She  put  me  in  mind  of  a  graven 
image.  She  had  on  a  sorter  gray 
mournin',  did  n't  she,  Miss  Hazy!" 

"Yes,  'm;  that  was  the  way  it  struck 
me.  Bein'  gray,  I  'lowed  it  was  fer 
some  one  she  did  n't  keer  fer  per- 
tickler." 

"An'  gent's  cuffs,"  continued  Mrs. 
Wiggs;  "I  noticed  them  right  off. 
'  'Scuse  me,'  says  she,  snappin'  her 
mouth  open  an'  shut  like  a  trap—*  'scuse 
me,  but  have  you  seen  anything  of  two 
strange  children  in  this  neighborhood  ? ' 
I  th'owed  my  apron  over  Lovey  Mary's 
hat,  that  I  was  trimmin'.  I  was  n't 
goin'  to  tell  till  I  found  out  what  that 
widder  woman  was  after.  But  before 
I  was  called  upon  to  answer,  Tommy 
57 


Lovey  Mary 

come  tearin'  round  the  house  chasin' 
Cusmoodle." 

"Who!" 

* '  Cusmoodle,  the  duck.  I  named  it 
this  mornin'.  Well,  when  the  lady  seen 
Tommy  she  started  up,  then  she  set 
down  ag'in,  holdin'  her  skirts  up  all 
the  time  to  keep  'em  from  techin'  the 
floor.  'How  'd  they  git  here?'  she  ast, 
so  relieved-like  that  I  thought  'she  must 
be  kin  to  'em.  So  I  up  an'  told  her 
all  I  knew.  I  told  her  if  she  wanted 
to  find  out  anything  about  us  she  could 
ast  Mrs.  Reddin'  over  at  Terrace  Park. 
'Mrs.  Robert  Reddin'?'  says  she,  look- 
in'  dumfounded.  'Yes,'  says  I,  'the 
finest  lady,  rich  or  poor,  in  Kentucky, 
unless  it  's  her  husband.'  Then  she 
went  on  an'  ast  me  goin'  on  a  hunderd 
questions  'bout  all  of  us  an'  all  of  you 
all,  an'  'bout  the  factory.  She  even 
ast  me  where  we  got  our  water  at,  an' 
58 


(l '  She  took  on  mighty  few  airs  fer  a 
person  in  mourninV  " 


An  Accident  and  an  Incident 


if  you  kept  yer  house  healthy.  I  told 
her  Lovey  Mary  had  made  Chris  cany 
out  more  'n  a  wheelbarrow  full  of  dirt 
ever'  night  since  she  had  been  here,  an' 
I  guess  it  would  be  healthy  by  the  time 
she  got  through." 

Miss  Hazy  moved  uneasily.  "I  told 
her  I  could  n't  clean  up  much  'count  of 
the  rheumatism,  an'  phthisic,  an'  these 
here  dizzy  spells—" 

"I  bet  she  did  n't  git  a  chance  to  talk 
much  if  you  got  started  on  your  symp- 
tims,"  interrupted  Mrs.  Wiggs. 

"Did  n't  you  think  she  was  a'  awful 
haughty  talker?" 

'No,  indeed.  She  took  on  mighty 
few  airs  fer  a  person  in  rnournin'. 
When  she  riz  to  go,  she  says,  real  kind 
fer  such  a  stern-faced  woman,  'Do  the 
childern  seem  well  an'  happy?'  'Yes, 
'm;  they  're  well,  all  right,'  says  I. 
'Tommy  he  's  like  a  colt  what  's  been 
61 


Lovey  Mary 

stabled  up  all  winter  an'  is  let  out  fer 
the  first  time.  As  fer  Mary/  I  says, 
4  she  seems  kinder  low  in  her  mind,  looks 
awful  pestered  most  of  the  time/  'It 
won't  hurt  her,'  says  the  lady.  'Keep 
a'  eye  on  'em,'  says  she,  puttin'  some 
money  in  my  hand, '  an '  if  you  need  any 
more,  I  '11  leave  it  with  Mrs.  Reddin'.' 
Then  she  cautioned  me  pertickler  not  to 
say  nothin '  'bout  her  bavin '  been  here. ' ' 

"She  told  me  not  to  tell,  too,"  said 
Miss  Hazy;  "but  I  don't  know  what 
we  're  goin'  to  say  to  Mrs.  Schultz.  She 
'most  sprained  her  back  tryin'  to  see 
who  it  was,  an'  Mrs.  Eichorn  come  over 
twicet  pertendin '-like  she  wanted  to 
borrow  a  corkscrew  driver." 

"Tell  'em  she  was  a  newfangled 
agent, ' '  said  Mrs.  Wiggs,  with  unblush 
ing  mendacity— "a'  agent  fer  shoe 
strings.  ' ' 


62 


CHAPTER   V 


THE   DAWN   OF   A   KOMANCE 

"  There  is  in  the  worst  of  fortunes 
The  best  of  chances  for  a  happy  change." 

OOD  land!  you  all  're  so 
clean  in  here  I  'm  feared 
of  ketchin'  the  pneu- 
mony."  Mrs.  Wiggs 
stood  in  Miss  Hazy's 
kitchen  and  smiled  approval  at  the 
marvelous  transformation. 

"Well,  now,  I  don't  think  it  's  right 
healthy,7'  complained  Miss  Hazy,  who 
was  sitting  at  the  machine,  with  her 
feet  on  a  soap-box;  "so  much  water 
sloppin*  round  is  mighty  apt  to  give  a 
person  a  cold.  But  Lovey  Mary  says 
she  can't  stand  it  no  other  way.  She  'a 
mighty  set,  Mis'  Wiggs." 
63 


Lovey  Mary 

"Yes,  an'  that  's  jes  what  you  need, 
Miss  Hazy.  You  never  was  set  'bout 
nothin'  in  yer  life.  Lovey  Mary  's  jes 
took  you  an'  the  house  an'  ever 'thing 
in  hand,  an'  in  four  weeks  got  you  all 
to  livin'  like  white  folks.  I  ain't  claim- 
in'  she  ain't  sharp-tongued ;  I  'low 
she  's  sassed  'bout  ever 'body  in  the 
Patch  but  me  by  now.  But  she  's  good, 
an'  she  's  smart,  an'  some  of  her  sharp 
corners  '11  git  pecked  off  afore  her  hair 
grows  much  longer." 

1 '  Oh,  mercy  me !  here  she  comes  now 
to  git  her  lunch, ' '  said  Miss  Hazy,  with 
chagrin.  "I  ain't  got  a  thing  fixed." 

"You  go  on  an'  sew;  I  '11  mess  up  a 
little  somethin'  fer  her.  She  '11  stop, 
anyway,  to  talk  to  Tommy.  Did  you 
ever  see  anything  to  equal  the  way  she 
takes  on  'bout  that  child!  She  jes 
natchally  analyzes  him." 

Lovey  Mary,  however,  did  not  stop 
64 


The  Dawn  of  a  Romance 

as  usual  to  play  with  Tommy.  She 
came  straight  to  the  kitchen  and  sat 
down  on  the  door-step,  looking  worried 
and  preoccupied. 

"How  comes  it  you  ain't  singin'?" 
asked  Mrs.  Wiggs.  "If  I  had  a  voice 
like  yourn,  folks  would  have  to  stop  up 
their  years  with  cotton.  I  jes  find  my 
self  watchin'  fer  you  to  come  home, 
so  's  I  can  hear  you  singin'  them  pretty 
duets  round  the  house. ' ' 

Lovey  Mary  smiled  faintly;  for  a 
month  past  she  had  been  unconsciously 
striving  to  live  up  to  Mrs.  Wiggs 's 
opinion  of  her,  and  the  constant  praise 
and  commendation  of  that ' '  courageous 
captain  of  compliment "  had  moved  her 
to  herculean  effort. 

But  a  sudden  catastrophe  threatened 

her.  She  sat  on  the  door-step,  white  and 

miserable.    Held  tight  in  the  hand  that 

was  thrust  in  her  pocket  was  a  letter;  it 

65 


Lovey  Mary 

was  a  blue  letter  addressed  to  Miss 
Hazy  in  large,  dashing  characters. 
Lovey  Mary  had  got  it  from  the  post 
man  as  she  went  out  in  the  morning; 
for  five  hours  she  had  been  racked  with 
doubt  concerning  it.  She  felt  that  it 
could  refer  but  to  one  subject,  and  that 
was  herself.  Perhaps  Miss  Bell  had 
discovered  her  hiding-place,  or,  worse 
still,  perhaps  Kate  Eider  had  seen  her 
at  the  factory  and  was  writing  for 
Tommy.  Lovey  Mary  crushed  the  let 
ter  in  her  hand;  she  would  not  give  it 
to  Miss  Hazy.  She  would  outwit  Kate 
again. 

"All  right,  honey, "  called  Mrs. 
Wiggs;  "here  you  are.  'T  ain't  much 
of  a  lunch,  but  it  '11  fill  up  the  gaps. 
Me  an'  Miss  Hazy  jes  been  talkin'  'bout 
you." 

Lovey   Mary   glanced   up   furtively. 
Could  they  have  suspected  anything? 
66 


'She  sat  on  the  door-step,  white 
and  miserable." 


The  Dawn  of  a  Romance 

"Did  n't  yer  years  sorter  burn!  We 
was  speakin'  of  the  way  you  'd  slicked 
things  up  round  here.  I  was  a-sayin' 
even  if  you  was  a  sorter  repeatin '-rifle 
when  it  come  to  answerin'  back,  you 
was  a  good,  nice  girl." 

Lovey  Mary  smoothed  out  the 
crumpled  letter  in  her  pocket.  "I  'm 
'fraid  I  ain't  as  good  as  you  make  me 
out,"  she  said  despondently. 

"Oh,  yes,  she  is,"  said  Miss  Hazy, 
with  unusual  animation;  "she  's  a  rale 
good  girl,  when  she  ain't  sassy." 

This  unexpected  praise  was  too  much 
for  Lovey  Mary.  She  snatched  the  let 
ter  from  her  pocket  and  threw  it  on  the 
table,  not  daring  to  trust  her  good  im 
pulse  to  last  beyond  the  minute. 

"  'Miss  Marietta  Hazy,  South  Avenue 
and  Railroad  Crossing,'  "  read  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  in  amazement. 

"Oh,  surely  it  ain't  got  me  on  the 
69 


Lovey  Mary 

back  of  it!"  cried  Miss  Hazy,  rising 
hurriedly  from  the  machine  and  peering 
over  her  glasses.  "You  open  it,  Mis' 
Wiggs;  I  ain't  got  the  nerve  to." 

With  chattering  teeth  and  trembling 
hands  Lovey  Mary  sat  before  her  un- 
tasted  food.  She  could  hear  Tommy's 
laughter  through  the  open  window,  and 
the  sound  brought  tears  to  her  eyes. 
But  Mrs.  Wiggs 's  voice  recalled  her, 
and  she  nerved  herself  for  the  worst. 

"Miss  Hazy. 

"  DEAR  Miss  [Mrs.  Wiggs  read  from  the  large  type 
written  sheet  before  her]  :  Why  not  study  the  planets 
and  the  heavens  therein!  In  casting  your  future,  I 
find  that  thou  wilt  have  an  active  and  succesful  year 
for  business,  but  beware  of  the  law.  You  are  prudent 
and  amiable  and  have  a  lively  emagination.  You  will 
have  many  ennemies ;  but  fear  not,  for  in  love  you  will 
be  faitful  and  sincer,  and  are  fitted  well  fer  married 
life." 

"They   surely  ain't  meanin'   me?" 
asked  Miss  Hazy,  in  great  perturbation. 
"Yes,  ma'am/'  said  Mrs.  Wiggs,  en> 
70 


The  Dawn  of  a  Romance 

phatically;  "it   's  you,  plain  as  day. 
Let  's  go  on : 

"Your  star  fortells  you  a  great  many  lucky  events. 
You  are  destined  to  a  brilliant  succes,  but  you  will 
have  to  earn  it  by  good  conduct.  Let  wise  men  lead 
you.  Your  mildness  against  the  wretched  will  bring 
you  the  friendship  of  everbody.  Enclosed  you  will 
find  a  spirit  picture  of  your  future  pardner.  If  you 
will  send  twenty-five  cents  with  the  enclosed  card, 
which  you  will  fill  out,  we  will  put  you  in  direct  cor- 
respondance  with  the  gentleman,  and  the  degree  or 
dained  by  the  planets  will  thus  be  fulfilled.  Please 
show  this  circuler  to  your  friends,  and  oblige 

"Astrologer." 

As  the  reading  proceeded,  Lovey 
Mary's  fears  gradually  diminished, 
and  with  a  sigh  of  relief  she  applied 
herself  to  her  lunch.  But  if  the  letter 
had  proved  of  no  consequence  to  her, 
such  was  not  the  case  with  the  two 
women  standing  at  the  window.  Miss 
Hazy  was  re-reading  the  letter,  vainly 
trying  to  master  the  contents. 

"Mary,"  she  said,  "git  up  an'  see  if 
you  can  find  my  other  pair  of  lookin'- 
71 


Lovey  Mary 

glasses.  Seems  like  I  can 't  git  the  sense 
of  it." 

Mrs.  Wiggs  meanwhile  was  excitedly 
commenting  on  the  charms  of  the 
"spirit  picture' ': 

6  i  My,  but  he  's  stylish !  Looks  f er  all 
the  world  like  a'  insurance  agent. 
Looks- like  he  might  be  a  little  tall  to  his 
size,  but  I  like  statute  men  better  'n 
dumpy  ones.  I  bet  he  's  got  a  lot  of 
nice  manners.  Ain't  his  smile  pleas 
ant?" 

Miss  Hazy  seized  the  small  picture 
with  trembling  fingers.  "I  don't  seem 
to  git  on  to  what  it  's  all  about,  Mis' 
Wiggs.  Ain't  they  made  a  mistake  or 
some  thin'?" 

"No,  indeed;  there  's  no  mistake  at 
all, ' '  declared  Mrs.  Wiggs.  '  '  Yer  name 's 
on  the  back,  an'  it  's  meant  fer  you. 
Someway  yer  name  's  got  out  as  bein' 
single  an'  needin'  takin'  keer  of,  an' 
72 


The  Dawn  of  a  Romance 

I  reckon  this  here  'strologer,  or  con 
jurer,  or  whatever  he  is,  seen  yer  good 
fortune  in  the  stars  an'  jes  wanted  to 
let  you  know  'bout  it. ' ' 

"Does  he  want  to  get  married  with 
her?"  asked  Lovey  Mary,  beginning  to 
realize  the  grave  importance  of  the  sub 
ject  under  discussion. 

"Well,  it  may  lead  to  that,"  an 
swered  Mrs.  Wiggs,  hopefully.  Surely 
only  a  beneficent  Providence  could 
have  offered  such  an  unexpected  solu 
tion  to  the  problem  of  Miss  Hazy's 
future. 

Miss  Hazy  herself  uttered  faint  pro 
tests  and  expostulations,  but  in  spite  of 
herself  she  was  becoming  influenced  by 
Mrs.  Wiggs 's  enthusiasm. 

"Oh,  shoo!"  she  repeated  again  and 
again.  "I  ain't  never  had  no  thought 
of  marryin'." 

"Course  you  ain't,"  said  Mrs. 
73 


Lovey  Mary 

Wiggs.  "Good  enough  reason:  you 
ain't  had  a  show  before.  Seems  to  me 
you  'd  be  flyin'  straight  in  the  face  of 
Providence  to  refuse  a  stylish,  sweet- 
smilin'  man  like  that." 

"He  is  fine-lookin',"  acknowledged 
Miss  Hazy,  trying  not  to  appear  too 
pleased;  "only  I  wisht  his  years  did  n't 
stick  out  so  much." 

Mrs.  Wiggs  was  exasperated. 

"Lawsee!  Miss  Hazy,  what  do  you 
think  he  '11  think  of  yer  figger!  Have 
you  got  so  much  to  brag  on,  that  you 
kin  go  to  pickin'  him  to  pieces?  Do 
you  suppose  I  'd  'a'  dared  to  judge 
Mr.  Wiggs  that  away?  Why,  Mr. 
Wiggs 's  nose  was  as  long  as  a  clothes 
pin;  but  I  would  no  more  'a'  thought 
of  his  nose  without  him  than  I  would 
'a'  thought  of  him  without  the  nose." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  I  'd  orter 
do  'bout  it?"  asked  Miss  Hazy. 
74 


The  Dawn  of  a  Romance 

"I  ain't  quite  made  up  my  mind," 
said  her  mentor.  "I  '11  talk  it  over 
with  the  neighbors.  But  I  'spect,  if  we 
kin  skeer  up  a  quarter,  that  you  '11  an 
swer  by  the  mornin's  mail." 

That  night  Lovey  Mary  sat  in  her 
little  attic  room  and  held  Tommy  close 
to  her  hungry  heart.  All  day  she 
worked  with  the  thought  of  coming 
back  to  him  at  night;  but  with  night 
came  the  dustman,  and  in  spite  of  her 
games  and  stories  Tommy's  blue  eyes 
would  get  full  of  the  sleep-dust.  To 
night,  however,  he  was  awake  and 
talkative. 

"Ain't  I  dot  no  muwer?"  he  asked. 

"No,"  said  Lovey  Mary,  after  a 
pause. 

"Did  n't  I  never  had  no  muwer?" 

Lovey  Mary  sat  him  up  in  her  lap 
and  looked  into  his  round,  inquiring 
eyes.  Her  very  love  for  him  hardened 
75 


Lovey  Mary 

her  heart  against  the  one  who  had 
wronged  him. 

"Yes,  darling,  you  had  a  mother 
once,  but  she  was  a  bad  mother,  a  mean, 
bad,  wicked  mother.  I  hate  her— hate 
her!"  Lovey  Mary's  voice  broke  in  a 
sob. 

''Ma— ry;  aw,  Ma— ry!"  called  Miss 
Hazy  up  the  stairs.  "You  '11  have  to 
come  down  here  to  Chris.  He  's  went 
to  sleep  with  all  his  clothes  on  'crost 
my  bed,  an'  I  can't  git  him  up." 

Lovey  Mary  tucked  Tommy  under 
the  cover  and  went  to  Miss  Hazy's  as 
sistance. 

"One  night  I  had  to  set  up  all  night 
'cause  he  would  n  't  git  up, ' '  complained 
Miss  Hazy,  in  hopelessly  injured  tones. 

Lovey  Mary  wasted  no  time  in  idle 

coaxing.      She    seized    a    broom    and 

rapped  the  sleeper  sharply  on  the  legs. 

His  peg-stick  was  insensible  to  this  in- 

76 


The  Dawn  of  a  Romance 

suit,  but  one  leg  kicked  a  feeble  protest. 
In  vain  Lovey  Mary  tried  violent  meas 
ures;  Chris  simply  shifted  his  position 
and  slumbered  on.  Finally  she  resorted 
to  strategy: 

"Listen,  Miss  Hazy!  Ain't  that  the 
fire-engine  f ' ' 

In  a  moment  Chris  was  hanging  half 
out  of  the  window,  demanding,  ' i  Where 


"You  great  big  lazy  boy!"  scolded 
Lovey  Mary,  as  she  put  Miss  Hazy's 
bed  in  order.  "I  '11  get  you  to  behaving 
mighty  different  if  I  stay  here  long 
enough.  What  's  this?"  she  added, 
pulling  something  from  under  Miss 
Hazy's  pillow. 

"Oh,  it  ain't  nothin',"  cried  Miss 
Hazy,  reaching  for  it  eagerly.  But 
Lovey  Mary  had  recognized  the  i '  spirit 
picture. ' ' 


77 


CHAPTER   VI 


THE   LOSING   OF   MK.    STUBBINS 

"  Love  is  not  love 

Which  alters  when  it  alteration  finds, 
Or  bends  with  the  remover  to  remove." 

F  the  Cabbage  Patch  had 
pinned  its  faith  upon 
the  efficiency  of  the 
matrimonial  agency  in 
regard  to  the  disposal 
of  Miss  Hazy,  it  was  doomed  to  disap 
pointment.  The  events  that  led  up  to 
the  final  catastrophe  were  unique  in 
that  they  cast  no  shadows  before. 

Miss  Hazy's  letters,  dictated  by  Mrs. 
Wiggs  and  penned  by  Lovey  Mary, 
were  promptly  and  satisfactorily  an 
swered.  The  original  of  the  spirit 
picture  proved  to  be  one  Mr.  Stubbins, 
78 


Mrs.  Wiggs  took  pictures  from  her  walls 
and  chairs  from  her  parlor  to  beau 
tify  the  house  of  Hazy." 


The  Losing  of  Mr.  Stubbins 


"a  prominent  citizen  of  Bagdad  Junc 
tion  who  desired  to  marry  some  one  in 
the  city.  The  lady  must  be  of  good 
character  and  without  incumbrances. ' ' 
'  <  That  's  all  right,  '  '  Mrs.  Wiggs  had  de 
clared;  "you  need  n't  have  no  incum 
brances.  If  he  '11  take  keer  of  you, 
we  '11  all  look  after  Chris." 

The  wooing  had  been  ideally  simple. 
Mr.  Stubbins,  with  the  impetuosity  of 
a  new  lover,  demanded  an  early  meet 
ing.  It  was  a  critical  time,  and  the 
Cabbage  Patch  realized  the  necessity  of 
making  the  first  impression  a  favorable 
one.  Mrs.  Wiggs  took  pictures  from 
her  walls  and  chairs  from  her  parlor  to 
beautify  the  house  of  Hazy.  Old  Mrs. 
Schultz,  who  was  confined  to  her  bed, 
sent  over  her  black  silk  dress  for  Miss 
Hazy  to  wear.  Mrs.  Eichorn,  with  deep 
insight  into  the  nature  of  man,  gave  a 
pound-cake  and  a  pumpkin-pie.  Lo- 
81 


Lovey  Mary 

vey  Mary  scrubbed,  and  dusted,  and 
cleaned,  and  superintended  the  toilet 
of  the  bride  elect. 

The  important  day  had  arrived,  and 
with  it  Mr.  Stubbins.  To  the  many 
eyes  that  surveyed  him  from  behind 
shutters  and  half-open  doors  he  was 
something  of  a  disappointment.  Mrs. 
Wiggs  's  rosy  anticipations  had  invested 
him  with  the  charms  of  an  Apollo,  while 
Mr.  Stubbins,  in  reality,  was  far  from 
godlike.  "My  land!  he  's  lanker  'n 
a  bean-pole,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Eichorn, 
in  disgust.  But  then  Mrs.  Eichorn 
weighed  two  hundred,  and  her  judg 
ment  was  warped.  Taking  everything 
into  consideration,  the  prospects  had 
been  most  flattering.  Mr.  Stubbins, 
sitting  in  Mrs.  Wiggs 's  most  com 
fortable  chair,  with  a  large  slice  of 
pumpkin-pie  in  his  hand,  and  with 
Miss  Hazy  opposite  arrayed  in  Mrs. 
82 


The  Losing  of  Mr.  Stubbing 

Schultz's  black  silk,  had  declared  him 
self  ready  to  marry  at  once.  And  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  believing  that  a  groom  in  the 
hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush,  promptly 
precipitated  the  courtship  into  a  wed 
ding. 

The  affair  proved  the  sensation  of  the^ 
hour,  and  "Miss  Hazy's  husband "  was 
the  cynosure  of  all  eyes.  For  one  brief 
week  the  honeymoon  shed  its  beguiling 
light  on  the  neighborhood,  then  it  suf 
fered  a  sudden  and  ignominious  eclipse. 

The  groom  got  drunk. 

Mary  was  clearing  away  the  supper- 
dishes  when  she  was  startled  by  a  cry 
from  Miss  Hazy: 

"My  sakes!  Lovey  Mary!  Look  at 
Mr.  Stubbins  a-comin'  up  the  street! 
Do  you  s'pose  he  's  had  a  stroke!" 

Lovey  Mary  ran  to  the  window  and 
beheld  the  "prominent  citizen  of  Bag 
dad  Junction"  in  a  state  of  unmistaka- 
85 


Lovey  Mary 

ble  intoxication.  He  was  bareheaded 
and  hilarious,  and  used  the  fence  as  a 
life-preserver.  Miss  Hazy  wrung  her 
hands  and  wept. 

' '  Oh,  what  '11 1  do  V '  she  wailed.  * '  I 
do  b'lieve  he  's  had  somethin'  to  drink. 
I  ain't  goin'  to  stay  an'  meet  him, 
Mary ;  I  'm  goin '  to  hide.  I  always  was 
skeered  of  drunken  men." 

"I  'm  not,"  said  Mary,  stoutly.  "  You 
go  on  up  in  my  room  and  lock  the  door ; 
I  'm  going  to  stay  here  and  keep  him 
from  messing  up  this  kitchen.  I  want 
to  tell  him  what  I  think  of  him,  any 
how.  I  just  hate  that  man !  I  believe 
you  do,  too,  Miss  Hazy." 

Miss  Hazy  wept  afresh.  "Well,  he 
ain't  my  kind,  Mary.  I  know  I  'd  had 
n't  orter  marry  him,  but  it  'pears  like 
ever'  woman  sorter  wants  to  try  gittin' 
married  oncet  anyways.  I  never  would 
'a'  done  it,  though,  if  Mrs.  Wiggs  had 
n't  'a'  sicked  me  on." 
86 


The  Losing  of  Mr.  Stubbing 

By  this  time  Mr.  Stubbins  had  reached 
the  yard,  and  Miss  Hazy  fled.  Lovey 
Mary  barricaded  Tommy  in  a  corner 
with  his  playthings  and  met  the  delin 
quent  at  the  door.  Her  eyes  blazed  and 
her  cheeks  were  aflame.  This  modern 
David  had  no  stones  and  sling  to  slay 
her  Goliath ;  she  had  only  a  vocabulary 
full  of  stinging  words  which  she  hurled 
forth  with  indignation  and  scorn.  Mr. 
Stubbins  had  evidently  been  abused  be 
fore,  for  he  paid  no  attention  to  the 
girl's  wrath.  He  passed  jauntily  to  the 
stove  and  tried  to  pour  a  cup  of  coffee ; 
the  hot  liquid  missed  the  cup  and 
streamed  over  his  wrist  and  hand. 
Howling  with  pain  and  swearing  vocif 
erously,  he  flung  the  coffee-pot  out  of 
the  window,  kicked  a  chair  across  the 
room,  then  turned  upon  Tommy,  who 
was  adding  shrieks  of  terror  to  the  gen 
eral  uproar.  "Stop  that  infernal  yell 
ing!"  he  cried  savagely,  as  he  struck 
87 


Lovey  Mary 

the  child  full  in  the  face  with  his  heavy 
hand. 

Lovey  Mary  sprang  forward  and 
seized  the  poker.  All  the  passion  of 
her  wild  little  nature  was  roused.  She 
stole  up  behind  him  as  he  knelt  before 
Tommy,  and  lifted  the  poker  to  strike. 
A  pair  of  terrified  blue  eyes  arrested 
her.  Tommy  forgot  to  cry,  in  sheer 
amazement  at  what  she  was  about  to 
do.  Ashamed  of  herself,  she  threw  the 
poker  aside,  and  taking  advantage  of 
Mr.  Stubbins's  crouching  position,  she 
thrust  him  suddenly  backward  into  the 
closet.  The  manoeuver  was  a  brilliant 
one,  for  while  Mr.  Stubbins  was  un 
steadily  separating  himself  from  the 
debris  into  which  he  had  been  cast, 
Lovey  Mary  slammed  the  door  and 
locked  it.  Then  she  picked  up  Tommy 
and  fled  out  of  the  house  and  across  the 
yard. 

88 


The  Losing  of  Mr.  Stubbins 


Mrs.  Wiggs  was  sitting  on  her  back 
porch  pretending  to  knit,  but  in  truth 
absorbed  in  a  wild  game  of  tag  which 
the  children  were  having  on  the  com 
mons.  ' '  That  's  right, ' '  she  was  calling 
excitedly— " that  's  right,  Chris  Hazy! 
You  kin  ketch  as  good  as  any  of  'em, 
even  if  you  have  got  a  peg-stick. ' '  But 
when  she  caught  sight  of  Mary's  white, 
distressed  face  and  Tommy's  streaming 
eyes,  she  dropped  her  work  and  held 
out  her  arms.  When  Mary  had  finished 
her  story  Mrs.  Wiggs  burst  forth: 

"An*  to  think  I  run  her  up  ag'in' 
this!  Ain't  men  deceiving  Now  I  'd 
'a'  risked  Mr.  Stubbins  myself  fer  the 
askin'.  It  's  true  he  was  a  widower, 
an'  ma  uster  allays  say,  ' Don't  fool 
with  widowers,  grass  nor  sod.'  But 
Mr.  Stubbins  was  so  slick-tongued !  He 
told  me  yesterday  he  had  to  take  liquor 
sometime  fer  his  war  en  jury." 
89 


Lovey  Mary 

"But,  Mrs.  Wiggs,  what  must  we 
do?"  asked  Lovey  Mary,  too  absorbed 
in  the  present  to  be  interested  in  the 
past. 

"Do?  Why,  we  got  to  git  Miss  Hazy 
out  of  this  here  hole.  It  ain't  no  use 
consultin'  her;  I  allays  have  said  talkin' 
to  Miss  Hazy  was  like  pullin'  out  bast- 
in '-threads:  you  jes  take  out  what  you 
put  in.  Me  an'  you  has  got  to  think 
out  a  plan  right  here  an'  now,  then  go 
to  work  an'  carry  it  out." 

*  '  Could  n  't  we  get  the  agency  to  take 
him  back!"  suggested  Mary. 

"No,  indeed;  they  could  n't  afford 
to  do  that.  Leinme  see,  lemme  see—' 
For  five  minutes  Mrs.  Wiggs  rocked 
meditatively,  soothing  Tommy  to  sleep 
as  she  rocked.  When  she  again  spoke 
it  was  with  inspiration: 

"I   've  got  it!     It  looks  sometime, 
Lovey  Mary,   's  if  I   'd  sorter  caught 
90 


The  Losing  of  Mr.  Stubbins 


some  of  Mr.  Wiggs 's  brains  in  thinkin' 
things  out.  They  ain't  but  one  thing  to 
do  with  Miss  Hazy's  husband,  an'  we  '11 
do  it  this  very  night." 

"What,  Mrs.  Wiggs?  What  is  it?" 
asked  Lovey  Mary,  eagerly. 

"Why,  to  lose  him,  of  course !  We  '11 
wait  till  Mr.  Stubbins  is  dead  asleep; 
you  know  men  allays  have  to  sleep  off 
a  jag  like  this.  I  Ve  seen  Mr.  Wiggs— 
I  mean  I  've  beared  'em  say  so  many 
a  time.  Well,  when  Mr.  Stubbins  is 
sound  asleep,  you  an'  me  an'  Billy  will 
drag  him  out  to  the  railroad. ' ' 

Mrs.  Wiggs 's  voice  had  sunk  to  a 
hoarse  whisper,  and  her  eyes  looked 
fierce  in  the  twilight. 

Lovey  Mary  shuddered. 

"You  ain't  going  to  let  the  train  run 
over  him,  are  you!"  she  asked. 

"Lor',  child,  I  ain't  a  'sassinator! 
No ;  we  '11  wait  till  the  midnight  freight 
91 


Lovey  Mary 

comes  along,  an'  when  it  stops  fer 
water,  we  '11  h'ist  Mr.  Stubbins  into  one 
of  them  empty  cars.  The  train  goes 
'way  out  West  somewheres,  an'  by  the 
time  Mr.  Stubbins  wakes  up,  he  '11  be 
so  far  away  from  home  he  won't  have 
no  money  to  git  back." 

"What  '11  Miss  Hazy  say?"  asked 
Mary,  giggling  in  nervous  excitement. 

"Miss  Hazy  ain't  got  a  thing  to  do 
with  it,"  replied  Mrs.  Wiggs  con 
clusively. 

At  midnight,  by  the  dark  of  the 
moon,  the  unconscious  groom  was  borne 
out  of  the  Hazy  cottage.  Mrs.  Wiggs 
carried  his  head,  while  Billy  Wiggs  and 
Mary  and  Asia  and  Chris  officiated  at 
his  arms  and  legs.  The  bride  surveyed 
the  scene  from  the  chinks  of  the  up 
stairs  shutters. 

Silently  the  little  group  waited  until 
the  lumbering  freight  train  slowed  up 
92 


The  Losing  of  Mr.  Stubbing 

to  take  water,  then  with  a  concerted  ef 
fort  they  lifted  the  heavy  burden  into 
an  empty  car.  As  they  shrank  back 
into  the  shadow,  Billy  whispered  to 
Lovey  Mary: 

"Say,  what  was  that  you  put  'long- 
side  of  him*" 

Mary  looked  shamefaced. 

"It  was  just  a  little  lunch-dinner/7 
she  said  apologetically ;  "  it  seemed  sor 
ter  mean  to  send  him  off  without  any 
thing  to  eat." 

' '  G  ee ! ' '  said  Billy.  <  <  You  're  a  cur  'us 
girl!" 

The  engine  whistled,  and  the  train 
moved  thunderously  away,  bearing  an 
unconscious  passenger,  who,  as  far  as 
the  Cabbage  Patch  was  concerned,  was 
henceforth  submerged  in  the  darkness 
of  oblivion. 


93 


CHAPTER   VII 


NEIGHBORLY   ADVICE 

"It's  a  poor  business  looking  at  the  sun  with  a 
cloudy  face." 

HE  long,  hot  summer 
days  that  followed  were 
full  of  trials  for  Lovey 
Mary.  Day  after  day 
the  great  unwinking 
sun  glared  savagely  down  upon  the 
Cabbage  Patch,  upon  the  stagnant 
pond,  upon  the  gleaming  rails,  upon 
the  puffing  trains  that  pounded  by  hour 
after  hour.  Each  morning  found  Lovey 
Mary  trudging  away  to  the  factory, 
where  she  stood  all  day  counting  and 
sorting  and  packing  tiles.  At  night  she 
climbed  wearily  to  her  little  room  under 
the  roof,  and  tried  to  sleep  with  a  wet 
94 


Neighborly  Advice 

cloth  over  her  face  to  keep  her  from 
smelling  the  stifling  car  smoke. 

But  it  was  not  the  heat  and  discom 
fort  alone  that  made  her  cheeks  thin 
and  her  eyes  sad  and  listless :  it  was  the 
burden  on  her  conscience,  which  seemed 
to  be  growing  heavier  all  the  time.  One 
morning  Mrs.  Wiggs  took  her  to  task 
for  her  gloomy  countenance.  They  met 
at  the  pump,  and,  while  the  former's 
bucket  was  being  filled,  Lovey  Mary 
leaned  against  a  lamp-post  and  waited 
in  a  dejected  attitude. 

"What  's  the  matter  with  you?" 
asked  Mrs.  Wiggs.  ' '  What  you  lookin ' 
so  wilted  about!" 

Lovey  Mary  dug  her  shoe  into  the 
ground  and  said  nothing.  Many  a  time 
had  she  been  tempted  to  pour  forth  her 
story  to  this  friendly  mentor,  but  the 
fear  of  discovery  and  her  hatred  of 
Kate  deterred  her. 
95 


Lovey  Mary 

Mrs.  Wiggs  eyed  her  keenly.    "Pes- 
terin'  about  something"  she  asked. 

"Yes,  'm,"  said  Lovey  Mary,  in  a  low 
tone. 

"Somethin'  that  's  already  did?" 

"Yes,  'm"— still  lower. 

"Did  you  think  you  was  actin'  fer  the 
best?" 

The  girl  lifted  a  pair  of  honest  gray 
eyes.     "Yes,  ma'am,  I  did." 

"I  bet  you  did!"  said  Mrs.  Wiggs, 
heartily.  "You  ain't  got  a  deceivin' 
bone  in  yer  body.  Now  what  you  want 
to  do  is  to  brace  up  yer  sperrits.  The 
decidin'-time  was  the  time  fer  wor- 
ryin'.  You  've  did  what  you  thought 
was  best;  now  you  want  to  stop  thinkin' 
'bout  it.  You  don't  want  to  go  round 
turnin'  folks'  thoughts  sour  jes  to  look 
at  you.  Most  girls  that  had  white  teeth 
like  you  would  be  smilin'  to  show  'em, 
if  fer  nothin'  else." 
96 


Neighborly  Advice 

"I  wisht  I  was  like  yon,"  said  Lovey 
Mary. 

4  '  Don 't  take  it  out  in  wishin  '.  If  you 
want  to  be  cheerful,  jes  set  yer  mind  on 
it  an' do  it.  Can't  none  of  us  help  what 
traits  we  start  out  in  life  with,  but  we 
kin  help  what  we  end  up  with.  When 
things  first  got  to  goin'  wrong  with  me, 
I  says :  '  0  Lord,  whatever  comes,  keep 
me  from  gittin'  sour!'  It  was  n't  fer 
my  own  sake  I  ast  it,— some  people 
'pears  to  enjoy  bein'  low-sperrited,— 
it  was  fer  the  childern  an'  Mr.  Wiggs. 
Since  then  I  've  made  it  a  practice  to 
put  all  my  worries  down  in  the  bottom 
of  my  heart,  then  set  on  the  lid  an? 
smile. ' ' 

"But  you  think  everybody  's  nice  and 
good,"  complained  Lovey  Mary.  "You 
never  see  all  the  meanness  I  do." 

"Don't  If  I  been  watchin'  old  man 
Eothchild  fer  goin'  on  eleven  year',  try- 
97 


Lovey  Mary 

in'  to  see  some  good  in  him,  an'  I  never 
found  it  till  the  other  day  when  I  seen 
him  puttin'  a  splint  on  Cusmoodle's 
broken  leg.  He  's  the  savagest  man  I 
know,  yit  he  keered  f  er  that  duck  as  ten 
der  as  a  woman.  But  it  ain't  jes  seein' 
the  good  in  folks  an'  sayin'  nice  things 
when  you  're  feelin'  good.  The  way 
to  git  cheerful  is  to  smile  when  you 
feel  bad,  to  think  about  somebody 
else's  headache  when  yer  own  is  'most 
bustin',  to  keep  on  believin'  the  sun 
is  a-shinin'  when  the  clouds  is  thick 
enough  to  cut.  Nothin'  helps  you  to  it 
like  thinkin'  more  'bout  other  folks  than 
about  yerself." 

"I  think  'bout  Tommy  first,"  said 
Lovey  Mary. 

"Yes,  you  certainly  do  yer  part  by 

him.    If  my  childern  wore  stockin's  an* 

got  as  many  holes  in  'em  as  he  does, 

I  'd  work  buttonholes  in  'em  at  the  start 

98 


Neighborly  Advice 

fer  the  toes  to  come  through.  But  even 
Tommy  wants  somethin'  besides  darns. 
Why  don't  you  let  him  go  barefoot  on 
Sundays,  too,  an'  take  the  time  you  been 
mendin'  fer  him  to  play  with  him?  I 
want  to  see  them  pretty  smiles  come 
back  in  yer  face  ag'in." 

In  a  subsequent  conversation  with 
Miss  Hazy,  Mrs.  Wiggs  took  a  more 
serious  view  of  Lovey  Mary's  de 
pression  • 

"She  jes  makes, me  wanter  cry,  she  's 
so  subdued-like.  I  never  see  anybody 
change  so  in  my  life.  It  'u'd  jes  be  a 
relief  to  hear  her  sass  some  of  us  like 
she  uster.  She  told  me  she  never  had 
nobody  make  over  her  like  we  all  did, 
an'  it  sorter' made  her  'shamed.  Law- 
see!  if  kindness  is  goin'  to  kill  her,  I 
think  we  'd  better  fuss  at  her  some. ' ' 

6 '  'Pears  to  me  like  she  's  got  nervous 
sensations,"  said  Miss  Hazy;  "she 
99 


Lovey  Mary 

jumps  up  in  her  sleep,  an'  talks  'bout 
folks  an'  things  I  never  heared  tell  of." 

"That  's  exactly  what  ails  her," 
agreed  Mrs.  Wiggs :  l  i  it  's  nerves,  Miss 
Hazy.  To  my  way  of  thinkin',  nerves 
is  worser  than  tumors  an'  cancers. 
Look  at  old  Mrs.  Schultz.  She  's  got 
the  dropsy  so  bad  you  can 't  tell  whether 
she  's  settin'  down  or  standin'  up,  yet 
she  ain't  got  a  nerve  in  her  body,  an'  has 
'most  as  good  a  time  as  other  folks.  We 
can't  let  Lovey  Mary  go  on  with  these 
here  nerves;  no  tellin'  where  they  '11 
land  her  at.  If  it  was  jes  springtime, 
I  'd  give  her  sulphur  an'  molasses  an* 
jes  a  leetle  cream  of  tartar;  that,  used 
along  with  egg-shell  tea,  is  the  outbeat- 
enest  tonic  I  ever  seen.  But  I  never 
would  run  ag'in'  the  seasons.  Seems 
to  me  I  've  heared  yallerroot  spoke  of 
fer  killin'  nerves." 

1  i  I  don 't  'spect  we  could  git  no  yaller 
root  round  here." 

100 


Neighborly  Advice  '  "^  ;.,  ;  ;J 

"  What  's  the  matter  with  Miss  Viny? 
I  bet  it  grows  in  her  garden  thick  as 
hairs  on  a  dog's  back.  Let  's  send 
Lovey  Mary  out  there  to  git  some,  an' 
we  711  jes  repeat  the  dose  on  her  till  it 
takes  some  hold." 

"I  ain't  puttin'  much  stock  in  Miss 
Viny,"  demurred  Miss  Hazy.  "I  Ve 
heared  she  was  a  novelist  reader,  an' 
she  ain't  even  a  church-member." 

"An'  do  you  set  up  to  jedge  her?" 
asked  Mrs.  Wiggs,  in  fine  scorn.  "Miss 
Viny  's  got  more  sense  in  her  little  fin 
ger  than  me  an'  you  has  got  in  our 
whole  heads.  She  can  doctor  better  with 
them  yarbs  of  hers  than  any  physician- 
ner  I  know.  As  to  her  not  bein '  a  mem 
ber,  she  lives  right  an'  helps  other  folks, 
an'  that  's  more  than  lots  of  members 
does.  Besides, ' '  she  added  conclusively, 
"Mr.  Wiggs  himself  was  n't  no  church- 
member." 

101 


CHAPTER   VIII 


A   DENOMINATIONAL   GARDEN 

"  Oh,  mickle  is  the  powerful  grace  that  lies 
In  herbs,  plants,  stones,  and  their  true  qualities ; 
For  naught  so  vile  that  on  the  earth  doth  live 
But  to  the  earth  some  special  good  doth  give." 

HE  following  Sunday 
being  decidedly  cooler, 
Lovey  Mary  was  start 
ed  off  to  Miss  Viny's 
in  quest  of  yellowroot. 
She  had  protested  that  she  was  not  sick, 
but  Miss  Hazy,  backed  by  Mrs.  Wiggs, 
had  insisted. 

"If  you  git  down  sick,  it  would  be 
a'  orful  drain  on  me,"  was  Miss  Hazy's 
final  argument,  and  the  point  was  ef 
fective. 

As  Lovey  Mary  trudged  along  the 
railroad-tracks,  she  was  unconscious  of 
the  pleasant  changes  of  scenery.     The 
102 


A  Denominational  Garden 

cottages  became  less  frequent,  and  the 
bare,  dusty  commons  gave  place  to 
green  fields.  Here  and  there  a  tree 
spread  its  branches  to  the  breezes,  and 
now  and  then  a  snatch  of  bird  song 
broke  the  stillness.  But  Lovey  Mary 
kept  gloomily  on  her  way,  her  eyes 
fixed  on  the  cross-ties.  The  thoughts 
surging  through  her  brain  were  dark 
enough  to  obscure  even  the  sunshine. 
For  three  nights  she  had  cried  herself 
to  sleep,  and  the  "nervous  sensations " 
were  getting  worse  instead  of  better. 

"Just  two  months  since  Kate  was 
hurt,"  she  said  to  herself.  "Soon  as 
she  gets  out  the  hospital  she  '11  be  try 
ing  to  find  us  again.  I  believe  she  was 
coming  to  the  factory  looking  for  me 
when  she  got  run  over.  She  'd  just  like 
to  take  Tommy  away  and  send  me  to 
jail.  Oh,  I  hate  her  worse  all  the  time ! 
I  wish  she  was—" 

103 


Lovey  Mary 

The  wish  died  on  her  lips,  for  she 
suddenly  realized  that  it  might  already 
have  been  fulfilled.  Some  one  coughed 
near  by,  and  she  started  guiltily. 

4 'You  seem  to  be  in  a  right  deep 
steddy,"  said  a  voice  on  the  other  side 
of  the  fence. 

Lovey  Mary  glanced  up  and  saw  a 
queer-looking  old  woman  smiling  at  her 
quizzically.  A  pair  of  keen  eyes 
twinkled  under  bushy  brows,  and  a 
fierce  little  beard  bristled  from  her  chin. 
When  she  smiled  it  made  Lovey  Mary 
think  of  a  pebble  dropped  in  a  pool, 
for  the  wrinkles  went  rippling  off  from 
her  mouth  in  ever-widening  circles  until 
they  were  lost  in  the  gray  hair  under 
her  broad-brimmed  hat. 

"Are  you  Miss  Viny?"  asked  Lovey 
Mary,  glancing  at  the  old-fashioned 
flower-garden  beyond. 

"Well,  I  been  that  fer  sixty  year'; 
104 


A  Denominational  Garden 

I  ain't  beared  of  no  change,"  answered 
the  old  lady. 

' '  Miss  Hazy  sent  me  after  some  yel- 
lowroot,"  said  Lovey  Mary,  listlessly. 

"Who  fer!" 

"Me." 

Miss  Viny  took  a  pair  of  large  spec 
tacles  from  her  pocket,  put  them  on  the 
tip  of  her  nose,  and  looked  over  them 
critically  at  Lovey  Mary. 

"Stick  out  yer  tongue." 

Lovey  Mary  obeyed. 

"Uh-huh.  It  's  a  good  thing  I 
looked.  You  don't  no  more  need  yal- 
lerroot  than  a  bumblebee.  You  come 
in  here  on  the  porch  an'  tell  me  what  's 
ailin'  you,  an'  I  '11  do  my  own  pre- 
scriptin'." 

Lovey  Mary  followed  her  up  the  nar 
row  path,  that  ran  between  a  mass  of 
flowers.  Snowy  oleanders,  yellow  asters, 
and  purple  phlox  crowded  together  in 
105 


Lovey  Mary 

a  space  no  larger  than  Miss  Hazy's 
front  yard.  Lovey  Mary  forgot  her 
troubles  in  sheer  delight  in  seeing  so 
many  flowers  together. 

"  Do  you  love  'em,  too?  "  asked  Miss 
Viny,  jerking  her  thumb  over  her 
shoulder. 

"  I  guess  I  would  if  I  had  a  chance. 
I  never  saw  them  growing  out  of  doors 
like  this.  I  always  had  to  look  at  them 
through  the  store  windows." 

"  Oh,  law,  don't  talk  to  me  'bout 
caged-up  flowers!  I  don't  b'lieve  in 
shuttin '  a  flower  up  in  a  greenhouse  any 
more  'n  I  b'lieve  in  shuttin'  myself  up 
in  one  church." 

Lovey  Mary  remembered  what  Miss 
Hazy  had  told  her  of  Miss  Viny 's  perni 
cious  religious  views,  and  she  tried  to 
change  the  subject.  But  Miss  Viny  was 
started  upon  a  favorite  theme  and  was 
not  to  be  diverted. 

106 


A  Denominational  Garden 

"This  here  is  a  denominational  gar 
den,  an'  I  got  every  congregation  I  ever 
heared  of  planted  in  it.  I  ain't  got  no 
faverite  bed.  I  keer  fer  'em  all  jes  alike. 
When  you  come  to  think  of  it,  the  same 
rule  holds  good  in  startin'  a  garden  as 
does  in  startin'  a  church.  You  first  got 
to  steddy  what  sort  of  soil  you  goin'  to 
work  with,  then  you  have  to  sum  up  all 
the  things  you  have  to  fight  ag'inst. 
Next  you  choose  what  flowers  are  goin' 
to  hold  the  best  places.  That  's  a 
mighty  important  question  in  churches, 
too,  ain't  it?  Then  you  go  to  plantin', 
the  thicker  the  better,  fer  in  both  you 
got  to  allow  fer  a  mighty  fallin'  off. 
After  that  you  must  take  good  keer  of 
what  you  got,  an'  be  sure  to  plant  some 
thing  new  each  year.  Once  in  a  while 
some  of  the  old  growths  has  to  be 
thinned  out,  and  the  new  upstarts  an' 
suckers  has  to  be  pulled  up.  Now,  if 
109 


Lovey  Mary 

you  '11  come  out  here  I  '11  show  you 
round. ' ' 

She  started  down  the  path,  and  Lovey 
Mary,  somewhat  overwhelmed  by  this 
oration,  followed  obediently. 

' i These  here  are  the  Baptists,"  said 
Miss  Viny,  waving  her  hand  toward  a 
bed  of  heliotrope  and  flags.  "They 
want  lots  of  water ;  like  to  be  wet  clean 
through.  They  sorter  set  off  to  they- 
selves  an'  tend  to  their  own  business; 
don't  keer  much  'bout  minglin'  with  the 
other  flowers." 

Lovey  Mary  did  not  understand  very 
clearly  what  Miss  Viny  was  talking 
about,  but  she  was  glad  to  follow  her 
in  the  winding  paths,  where  new  beau 
ties  were  waiting  at  every  turn. 

" These  is  geraniums,  ain't  they? 
One  of  the  girls  had  one,  once,  in  a 
flower-pot  when  she  was  sick." 

"Yes,"  said  Miss  Viny;  "they  're 
110 


A  Denominational  Garden 

Methodist.  They  fall  from  grace  an' 
has  to  be  revived;  they  like  lots  of  en 
couragement  in  the  way  of  sun  an? 
water.  These  phlox  are  Methodist,  too ; 
no  set  color,  easy  to  grow,  hardy  an' 
vigorous.  Pinchin'  an'  cuttin'  back  the 
shoots  makes  it  flower  all  the  better; 
needs  new  soil  every  few  years;  now 
ain't  that  Methodist  down  to  the 
ground!" 

"Are  there  any  Presbyterians!" 
asked  Lovey  Mary,  beginning  to  grasp 
Miss  Viny's  meaning. 

"Yes,  indeed;  they  are  a  good,  old, 
reliable  bed.  Look  at  all  these  roses  an' 
tiger-lilies  an'  dahlias;  they  all  knew 
what  they  was  goin'  to  be  afore  they 
started  to  grow.  They  was  elected  to 
it,  an'  they  '11  keep  on  bein'  what 
they  started  out  to  be  clean  to  the  very 
end." 

' i  I  know  about  predestination, ' '  cried 
111 


Lovey  Mary 

Lovey  Mary,  eagerly.  "Miss  Bell  used 
to  tell  us  all  those  things. " 

"Who  did!" 

Lovey  Mary  flushed  crimson.  "A 
lady  I  used  to  know,"  she  said  eva 
sively. 

Miss  Viny  crossed  the  garden,  and 
stopped  before  a  bed  of  stately  lilies 
and  azaleas.  "These  are  Tiscopals," 
she  explained.  "Ain't  they  tony?  Jes 
look  like  they  thought  their  bed  was  the 
only  one  in  the  garden.  Somebody  said 
that  a  lily  did  n't  have  no  pore  kin 
among  the  flowers.  It  ain't  no  wonder 
they  'most  die  of  dignity.  They  're  like 
the  Tiscopals  in  more  ways  ?n  one; 
both  hates  to  be  disturbed,  both  likes 
some  shade,  an' "— confidentially — 
'  '  both  air  pretty  pernickity.  But  to  tell 
you  the  truth,  ain't  nothin'  kin  touch 
'em  when  it  comes  to  beauty!  I  think 
all  the  other  beds  is  proud  of  'em,  if 
112 


A  Denominational  Garden 

you  'd  come  to  look  into  it.  Why,  look 
at  weddin's  an'  funerals !  Don't  all  the 
churches  call  in  the  'Piscopals  an'  the 
lilies  on  both  them  occasions?" 

Lovey  Mary  nodded  vaguely. 

"An'  here,"  continued  Miss  Viny, 
"are  the  Unitarians.  You  may  be 
s 'prised  at  me  fer  havin'  'em  in  here, 
'long  with  the  orthodox  churches;  but 
if  the  sun  an'  the  rain  don't  make  no 
distinction,  I  don't  see  what  right  I  got 
to  put  'em  on  the  other  side  of  the 
fence.  These  first  is  sweet-william,  as 
rich  in  bloom  as  the  Unitarian  is  in 
good  works,  a-sowin'  theyselves  con 
stant,  an'  every  little  plant  a-puttm* 
out  a  flower." 

"Ain't  there  any  Catholics?"  asked 
Lovey  Mary. 

"Don't  you  see  them  hollyhawks  any 
snowballs  an'  laylacs?  All  of  them  are 
Catholics,  takin'  up  lots  of  room  an' 
113 


Lovey  Mary 

needin'  the  prunin  '-knife  pretty  often, 
but  bringin'  cheer  and  brightness  to  the 
whole  garden  when  it  needs  it  most. 
Yes,  I  guess  you'd  have  trouble  thinkin' 
of  any  sect  I  ain't  got  planted.  Them 
ferns  over  in  the  corner  is  Quakers.  I 
ain't  never  seen  no  Quakers,  but  they 
tell  me  that  they  don't  b'lieve  in  flow- 
erin'  out;  that  they  like  coolness  an' 
shade  an'  quiet,  an'  are  jes  the  same  the 
year  round.  These  colea  plants  are  the 
apes;  they  are  all  things  to  all  men, 
take  on  any  color  that  's  round  'em,  kin 
be  the  worst  kind  of  Baptists  or  Presby 
terians,  but  if  left  to  theyselves  they 
run  back  to  good-f er-nothin 's.  This 
here  everlastin'  is  one  of  these  here 
Christians  that  's  so  busy  thinkin'  'bout 
dyin '  that  he  f ergits  to  live. ' ' 

Miss  Viny  chuckled  as  she  crumbled 
the  dry  flower  in  her  fingers. 

"See  how  different  this  is,"  she  said, 
114 


A  Denominational  Garden 

plucking  a  sprig  of  lemon-verbena. 
"  This  an'  the  mint  an'  the  sage  an'  the 
lavender  is  all  true  Christians;  jes  by 
bein'  touched  they  give  out  a'  influence 
that  makes  the  whole  world  a  sweeter 
place  to  live  in.  But,  after  all,  they 
can't  all  be  alike!  There  's  all  sorts  of 
Christians:  some  stands  fer  sunshine, 
some  fer  shade ;  some  fer  beauty,  some 
fer  use ;  some  up  high,  some  down  low. 
There  's  jes  one  thing  all  the  flowers 
has  to  unite  in  fightin'  ag'inst— that  's 
the  canker-worm,  Hate.  If  it  once  gits 
in  a  plant,  no  matter  how  good  an' 
strong  that  plant  may  be,  it  eats  right 
down  to  its  heart." 

' '  How  do  you  get  it  out,  Miss  Viny  ! ' ' 
asked  Lovey  Mary,  earnestly. 

"Prayer  an'  perseverance.  If  the 
Christian  '11  do  his  part,  God  '11  do 
his  'n.  You  see,  I  'm  tryin'  to  be 
to  these  flowers  what  God  is  to  his 

7  L  115 


Lovey  Mary 

churches.  The  sun,  which  answers  to 
the  Sperrit,  has  to  shine  on  'em  all,  an' 
the  rain,  which  answers  to  God's  mercy, 
has  to  fall  on  'em  all.  I  jes  watch  'em, 
an'  plan  fer  'em,  an'  shelter  'em,  an' 
love  'em,  an'  if  they  do  their  part 
they  're  bound  to  grow.  Now  I  'm 
goin'  to  cut  you  a  nice  bo'quet  to  carry 
back  to  the  Cabbage  Patch." 

So  engrossed  were  the  two  in  select 
ing  and  arranging  the  flowers  that 
neither  thought  of  the  yellowroot  01 
its  substitute.  Nevertheless,  as  Lovey 
Mary  tramped  briskly  back  over  the 
railroad-ties  with  her  burden  of  blos 
soms,  she  bore  a  new  thought  in  her 
heart  which  was  destined  to  bring  about 
a  surer  cure  than  any  of  Miss  Viny's 
most  efficient  herbs. 


116 


CHAPTER   IX 


LABOK   DAY 

"And  cloudy  the  day,  or  stormy  the  night, 
The  sky  of  her  heart  was  always  bright." 

T  would  n't  s 'prise  me 
none  if  we  had  cyclones 
an'  tornadoes  by  even- 
in',  it  looks  so  thun 
dery  outdoors." 
It  was  inconsiderate  of  Miss  Hazy 
to  make  the  above  observation  in  the 
very  face  of  the  most  elaborate  prepara 
tions  for  a  picnic,  but  Miss  Hazy's  evil 
predictions  were  too  frequent  to  be 
effective. 

"I  '11  scurry  round  an'  git  another 

loaf    of    bread,"    said    Mrs.    Wiggs, 

briskly,  as  she  put  a  tin  pail  into  the 

corner  of  the  basket.     "Lovey  Mary, 

117 


Lovey  Mary 

you  put  in  the  eggs  an'  git  them  cookies 
outen  the  stove.  I  promised  them  boys 
a  picnic  on  Labor  Day,  an'  we  are  goin' 
if  it  snows. " 

"  Awful  dangerous  in  the  woods  when 
it  storms,"  continued  Miss  Hazy.  "I 
heared  of  a  man  oncet  that  would  go  to 
a  picnic  in  the  rain,  and  he  got  struck 
so  bad  it  burned  his  shoes  plump  off." 

"Must  have  been  the  same  man  that 
got  drownded,  when  he  was  little,  fer 
goin'  in  swimmin'  on  Sunday,"  an 
swered  Mrs.  Wiggs,  wiping  her  hands 
on  her  apron. 

"Mebbe  't  was,"  said  Miss  Hazy. 

Lovey  Mary  vibrated  between  the 
door  and  the  window,  alternating  be 
tween  hope  and  despair.  She  had  set 
her  heart  on  the  picnic  with  the  same 
intensity  of  desire  that  had  character 
ized  her  yearning  for  goodness  and  af 
fection  and  curly  hair. 
118 


Labor  Day 


"I  believe  there  is  a  tiny  speck  more 
blue,"  she  said,  scanning  the  heavens 
for  the  hundredth  time. 

i  l  Course  there  is ! ' '  cried  Mrs.  Wiggs, 
"an7  even  if  there  ain't,  we  '11  have  the 
picnic  anyway.  I  b'lieve  in  havin'  a 
good  time  when  you  start  out  to  have 
it.  If  you  git  knocked  out  of  one  plan, 
you  want  to  git  yerself  another  right 
quick,  before  yer  sperrits  has  a  chance 
to  fall.  Here  comes  Jake  an'  Chris 
with  their  baskets.  Suppose  you  rench 
off  yer  hands  an'  go  gether  up  the  rest 
of  the  childern.  I  'spect  Billy  's  done 
hitched  up  by  this  time." 

At  the  last  moment  Miss  Hazy  was 
still  trying  to  make  up  her  mind 
whether  or  not  she  would  go.  "  Them 
wheels  don't  look  none  too  stiddy  fer 
sich  a  big  load,"  she  said  cautiously. 

' '  Them  wheels  is  a  heap  sight  stiddier 
than  your  legs,"  declared  Mrs.  Wiggs. 
119 


Lovey  Mary 

11  An'  there  ain't  a  meeker  boss  in  Ken 
tucky  than  Cuby.  He  looks  like  he 
might  'a'  belonged  to  a  preacher  'stid 
of  bein'  a  broken-down  engine-boss." 

An  unforeseen  delay  was  occasioned 
by  a  heated  controversy  between  Lovey 
Mary  and  Tommy  concerning  the  ad 
visability  of  taking  Cusrnoodle. 

"There  ain't  more  than  room  enough 
to  squeeze  you  in,  Tommy,"  she  said, 
"let  alone  that  fat  old  duck." 

"'T  ain't  a  fat  old  duck." 

"  'T  is,  too!  He  sha'n't  go.  You  '11 
have  to  stay  at  home  yourself  if  you 
can't  be  good." 

"I  feel  like  I  was  doin'  to  det  lim 
ber,"  threatened  Tommy. 

Mrs.  Wiggs  recognized  a  real  danger. 
She  also  knew  that  discretion  was  the 
better  part  of  valor.  "Here  's  a  nice 
little  place  up  here  by  me,  jes  big 
enough  fer  you  an'  Cusmoodle.  You 
120 


Labor  Day 


kin  set  on  the  basket;  it  won't  mash 
nothin'.  If  we  're  packed  in  good  an' 
tight,  can't  none  of  us  fall  out." 

When  the  last  basket  was  stored 
away,  the  party  started  off  in  glee, 
leaving  Miss  Hazy  still  irresolute  in 
the  doorway,  declaring  that  "she  al 
most  wisht  she  had  'a'  went." 

The  destination  had  not  been  decided 
upon,  so  it  was  discussed  as  the  wagon 
jolted  along  over  the  cobblestones. 

"Let  's  go  out  past  Miss  Viny's," 
suggested  Jake ;  "there  's  a  bully  woods 
out  there." 

"Aw,  no!  Let  's  go  to  Tick  Creek 
an'  go  in  wadin'." 

Mrs.  Wiggs,  seated  high  above  the 
party  and  slapping  the  reins  on  Cuba's 
back,  allowed  the  lively  debate  to  con 
tinue  until  trouble  threatened,  then  she 
interfered : 

"I  think  it  would  be  nice  to  go  over 
121 


Lovey  Mary 

to  the  cemetery.  We  'd  have  to  cross 
the  city,  but  when  you  git  out  there 
there  's  plenty  of  grass  an'  trees,  an'  it 
runs  right  Alongside  the  river." 

The  proximity  of  the  river  decided 
the  matter. 

"I  won't  hardly  take  a  swim!"  said 
Jake,  going  through  the  motions,  to  the 
discomfort  of  the  two  little  girls  who 
were  hanging  their  feet  from  the  back 
of  the  wagon. 

"I  'm  afraid  it  's  going  to  rain  so 
hard  that  you  can  take  your  swim  be 
fore  you  get  there,"  said  Lovey  Mary, 
as  the  big  drops  began  to  fall. 

The  picnic  party  huddled  on  the  floor 
of  the  wagon  in  a  state  of  great  merri 
ment,  while  Mrs.  Wiggs  spread  an  old 
quilt  over  as  many  of  them  as  it  would 
cover. 

" 'T  ain't  nothin'  but  a  summer 
shower, ' '  she  said,  holding  her  head  on 
122 


Labor  Day 


one  side  to  keep  the  rain  from  driving 
in  her  face.  "I  Aspect  the  sun  is  shinin' 
at  the  cemetery  right  now." 

As  the  rickety  wagon,  with  its 
drenched  and  shivering  load,  rattled 
across  Main  street,  an  ominous  sound 
fell  upon  the  air: 

One— two— three!    One— two! 

Mrs.  Wiggs  wrapped  the  lines  about 
her  wrists  and  braced  herself  for  the 
struggle.  But  Cuba  had  heard  the  sum 
mons,  his  heart  had  responded  to  the 
old  call,  and  with  one  joyous  bound 
he  started  for  the  fire. 

"Hold  on  tight!"  yelled  Mrs.  Wiggs. 
1  'Don't  none  of  you  fall  out.  Whoa, 
Cuby!  Whoa!  I  '11  stop  him  in  a 
minute.  Hold  tight!" 

Cuba  kicked  the  stiffness  out  of  his 

legs,  and  laying  his  ears  back,  raced 

valiantly  for  five  squares  neck  and  neck 

with  the  engine-horses.     But  the  odds 

123 


Lovey  Mary 

were  against  him;  Mrs.  Wiggs  and 
Chris  sawing  on  one  line,  and  Billy  and 
Jake  pulling  on  the  other,  proved  too 
heavy  a  handicap.  Within  sight  of  the 
fire  he  came  to  a  sudden  halt. 

"It  's  the  lumber-yards !"  called 
Chris, climbing  over  the  wheels.  "Looks 
like  the  whole  town  's  on  fire." 

"Let  's  unhitch  Cuby  an'  tie  him,  an* 
stand  in  the  wagon  an'  watch  it,"  cried 
Mrs.  Wiggs,  in  great  excitement. 

The  boys  were  not  content  to  be  sta 
tionary,  so  they  rushed  away,  leaving 
Mrs.  Wiggs  and  the  girls,  with  Tommy 
and  the  duck,  to  view  the  conflagration 
at  a  safe  distance. 

For  two  hours  the  fire  raged,  leaping 
from  one  stack  of  lumber  to  another, 
and  threatening  the  adjacent  buildings. 
Every  fire-engine  in  the  department  was 
called  out,  the  commons  were  black  with 
people,  and  the  excitement  was  intense. 
124 


Labor  Day 


" Ain't  you  glad  we  come?"  cried 
Lovey  Mary,  dancing  up  and  down  in 
the  wagon. 

' i  We  never  come.  We  was  brought, ' ' 
said  Asia. 

Long  before  the  fire  was  under  con 
trol  the  sun  had  come  through  the 
clouds  and  was  shining  brightly.  Pic 
nics,  however,  were  not  to  be  consid 
ered  when  an  attraction  like  this  was  to 
be  had.  When  the  boys  finally  came 
straggling  back  the  fire  was  nearly  out, 
the  crowd  had  dispersed,  and  only  the 
picnic  party  was  left  on  the  commons. 

"It  's  too  late  to  start  to  the  ceme 
tery,"  said  Mrs.  Wiggs,  thoughtfully. 
"What  do  you  all  think  of  havin'  the 
picnic  right  here  an'  now!" 

The  suggestion  was  regarded  as 
nothing  short  of  an  inspiration. 

"The  only  trouble,"  continued  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  "is  'bout  the  water.  Where  we 
125 


Lovey  Mary 

goin'  to  git  any  to  drink?  I  know  one 
of  the  firemen,  Pete  Jenkins ;  if  I  could 
see  him  I  M  ast  him  to  pour  us  some 
outen  the  hose." 

' '  Gimme  the  pail ;  I  '11  go  after  him, ' ' 
cried  Jake. 

"Naw,  you  don't;  I  'm  a-goin'.  It  's 
my  maw  that  knows  him,"  said  Billy. 

'  *  That  ain  't  nothin '.  My  uncle  knows 
the  chief  of  police!  Can't  I  go,  Mrs. 
Wiggs!" 

Meanwhile  Chris  had  seized  the  hint 
and  the  bucket,  and  was  off  in  search 
of  Mr.  Peter  Jenkins,  whose  name 
would  prove  an  open  sesame  to  that 
small  boy's  paradise— the  engine  side 
of  the  rope. 

The  old  quilt,  still  damp,  was  spread 
on  the  ground,  and  around  it  sat  the 
picnic  party,  partaking  ravenously  of 
dry  sandwiches  and  cheese  and  cheer. 
Such  laughing  and  crowding  and  romp- 
126 


Labor  Day 


ing  as  there  was!  Jake  gave  correct 
imitations  of  everybody  in  the  Cabbage 
Patch,  Chris  did  some  marvelous  stunts 
with  his  wooden  leg,  and  Lovey  Mary 
sang  every  funny  song  that  she  knew. 
Mrs.  Wiggs  stood  in  the  wagon  above 
them,  and  dispensed  hospitality  as  long 
as  it  lasted.  Cuba,  hitched  to  a  fence 
near  by,  needed  no  material  nourish 
ment.  He  was  contentedly  sniffing  the 
smoke-filled  air,  and  living  over  again 
the  days  of  his  youth. 

When  the  party  reached  home,  tired 
and  grimy,  they  were  still  enthusiastic 
over  the  fine  time  they  had  had. 

"It  's  jes  the  way  I  said,"  proclaimed 
Mrs.  Wiggs,  as  she  drove  up  with  a 
flourish;  "you  never  kin  tell  which  way 
pleasure  is  a-comin'.  Who  ever  would 
'a'  thought,  when  we  aimed  at  the  ceme 
tery,  that  we  'd  land  up  at  a  first-class 
fire?" 

127 


CHAPTER   X 

A   TIMELY   VISIT 

"  The  love  of  praise,  howe'er  concealed  by  art, 
Reigns  more  or  less,  and  glows  in  ev'ry  heart." 

(EEKS  and  months  slip 
ped  by,  and  the  Cab 
bage  Patch  ate  break 
fast  and  supper  by 
lamplight.  Those  who 
could  afford  it  were 
laying  in  their  winter  coal,  and  those 
who  could  not  were  providently  pasting 
brown  paper  over  broken  window-panes, 
and  preparing  to  keep  Jack  Frost  at  bay 
as  long  as  possible. 

One  Saturday,  as  Lovey  Mary  came 
home  from  the  factory,  she  saw  a  well- 
dressed  figure  disappearing  in  the 
distance. 

128 


A  Timely  Visit 

"Who  is  that  lady?"  she  demanded 
suspiciously  of  Europena  Wiggs,  who 
was  swinging  violently  on  the  gate. 

"  ?T  ain't  no  lady,77  said  Europena. 
"It  's  my  Sunday-school  teacher. " 

"Mrs.  Bedding!" 

"Uh-huh.  She  wants  Asia  to  come 
over  to  her  house  this  evenin'." 

"Wisht  I  could  go,"  said  Lovey 
Mary. 

"Why  can't  you!"  asked  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  coming  to  the  open  door.  '  *  Asia 
would  jes  love  to  show  Mrs.  Beddin' 
how  stylish  you  look  in  that  red  dress. 
I  '11  curl  yer  hair  on  the  poker  if  you 
want  me  to." 

Any  diversion  from  the  routine  of 
work  was  acceptable,  so  late  that  after 
noon  the  two  girls,  arrayed  in  their 
best  garments,  started  forth  to  call  on 
the  Beddings. 

"I  wisht  I  had  some  gloves,"  said 
129 


Lovey  Mary 

Lovey  Mary,  rubbing  her  blue  fin 
gers. 

"If  I  'd  V  thought  about  it  I  'd  V 
made  you  some  before  we  started.  It 
don't  take  no  time."  Asia  held  out  her 
hands,  which  were  covered  with  warm 
red  mitts.  "I  make  'em  outen  Billy's 
old  socks  after  the  feet  's  wore  off." 

"I  don't  see  how  you  know  how  to 
do  so  many  things ! ' '  said  Lovey  Mary, 
admiringly. 

" 'T  ain't  nothin',"  disclaimed  Asia, 
modestly.  "It  's  jes  the  way  maw 
brought  us  up.  Whenever  we  started 
out  to  do  a  thing  she  made  us  finish  it 
someway  or  'nother.  Oncet  when  we 
was  all  little  we  lived  in  the  country. 
She  sent  Billy  out  on  the  hoss  to  git  two 
watermelon,  an'  told  him  fer  him  not 
to  come  home  without  'em.  When  Billy 
got  out  to  the  field  he  found  all  the 
watermelon  so  big  he  could  n't  carry 
130 


"Asia  held  out  her  hands,  which 

were  covered  with  warm 

red  mitts." 


A  Timely  Visit 

one,  let  alone  two.    What  do  you  think 
he  done?" 

' ' Come  home  without  'em?" 

"No,  sir,  he  never!  He  jes  set  on  the 
fence  an'  thought  awhile,  then  he  took 
off  en  his  jeans  pants  an'  put  a  water 
melon  in  each  leg  an'  hanged  'em  'crost 
old  Eollie's  hack  an'  come  ridin'  home 
barelegged. ' ' 

"I  think  he  's  the  nicest  boy  in  the 
Cabbage  Patch,"  said  Lovey  Mary, 
laughing  over  the  incident.  ' '  He  never 
does  tease  Tommy." 

"That  's  'cause  he  likes  you.  He 
says  you  've  got  grit.  He  likes  the  way 
you  cleaned  up  Miss  Hazy  an'  stood  up 
to  Mr.  Stubbins." 

A  deeper  color  than  even  the  fresh 
air  warranted  came  into  Lovey  Mary's 
cheeks,  and  she  walked  on  for  a  few 
minutes  in  pleased  silence. 
8  L  133 


Lovey  Mary 

" Don't  you  want  to  wear  my  gloves 
awhile  V9  asked  Asia. 

' i  No ;  my  hands  ain  't  cold  any  more, ' ' 
said  Lovey  Mary. 

As  they  turned  into  Terrace  Park, 
with  its  beautiful  grounds,  its  fountains 
and  statuary,  Asia  stopped  to  explain. 

"  Jes  rich  folks  live  over  here.  That 
there  is  the  KeddinV  house,  the  big 
white  one  where  them  curbstone  ladies 
are  in  the  yard.  I  wisht  you  could  git 
a  peek  in  the  parlor ;  they  Ve  got  chairs 
made  outer  real  gold,  an'  strandaliers 
that  look  like  icicles  all  hitched  to 
gether.  " 

' '  Do  they  set  on  the  gold  chairs  ? J  9 

"No,  indeed;  the  legs  is  too  wabbly 
fer  that.  I  reckon  they  're  jes  to  show 
how  rich  they  are.  This  here  is  where 
the  carriage  drives  in.  Their  hired 
man  wears  a  high-style  hat,  an'  a  fur 
cape  jes  like  Mrs.  Reddin's." 
134 


A  Timely  Visit 

"I  'spect  they  have  turkey  every  day, 
don't  they,  Asia?" 

Before  Asia's  veracity  was  tested  to 
the  limit,  the  girls  were  startled  by  the 
sudden  appearance  of  an  excited  house 
maid  at  the  side  door. 

'  '  Simmons !  Simmons ! ' '  she  scream 
ed.  * t  Oh,  where  is  that  man  ?  I  '11  have 
to  go  for  somebody  myself."  And 
without  noticing  the  girls,  she  ran  hast 
ily  down  the  driveway. 

Asia,  whose  calmness  was  seldom 
ruffled,  led  the  way  into  the  entry. 
*  '  That  's  the  butter 's  pantry, ' '  she  said, 
jerking  her  thumb  over  her  shoulder. 

" Don't  they  keep  nothing  in  it  but 
butter?"  gasped  Lovey  Mary. 

"  Reckon  not.  They  Jve  got  a  great 
big  box  jes  fer  ice;  not  another  thing 
goes  in  it." 

Another  maid  ran  down  the  steps, 
calling  Simmons. 

135 


Lovey  Mary 

Asia,  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  house, 
made  her  way  unconcernedly  up  to  the 
nursery.  On  the  second  floor  there  was 
great  confusion ;  the  telephone  was  ring 
ing,  servants  were  hurrying  to  and 
fro. 

"He  '11  choke  to  death  before  the 
doctor  gets  here ! ' '  they  heard  the  nurse 
say  as  she  ran  through  the  hall.  From 
the  open  nursery  door  they  could  hear 
the  painful  gasps  and  coughs*  of  a  child 
in  great  distress. 

Asia  paused  on  the  landing,  but 
Lovey  Mary  darted  forward.  The 
mother  instinct,  ever  strong  within  her, 
had  responded  instantly  to  the  need  of 
the  child.  In  the  long,  dainty  room  full 
of  beautiful  things,  she  only  saw  the 
terrified  baby  on  his  mother's  lap,  his 
face  purple,  his  eyes  distended,  as  he 
fought  for  his  breath. 

Without  a  word  she  sprang  forward, 
136 


Master  Robert  Redding  was  right  side  up  again, 
sobbing  himself  quiet  in  Lovey  Mary's  arms." 


A  Timely  Visit 

and  grasping  the  child  by  his  feet,  held 
him  at  arm's-length  and  shook  him  vio 
lently.  Mrs.  Bedding  screamed,  and 
the  nurse,  who  was  rushing  in  with  hot 
milk,  dropped  the  cup  in  horror.  But 
a  tiny  piece  of  hard  candy  lay  on  the 
floor,  and  Master  Robert  Bedding  was 
right  side  up  again,  sobbing  himself 
quiet  in  Lovey  Mary's  arms. 

After  the  excitement  had  subsided, 
and  two  doctors  and  Mr.  Redding  had 
arrived  breathless  upon  the  scene,  Mrs. 
Redding,  for  the  dozenth  time,  lavished 
her  gratitude  upon  Lovey  Mary: 

"  And  to  think  you  saved  my  precious 
baby!  The  doctor  said  it  was  the  only 
thing  that  could  have  saved  him,  yet  we 
four  helpless  women  had  no  idea  what 
to  do.  How  did  you  know,  dear?  Where 
did  you  ever  see  it  done?" 

Lovey  Mary,  greatly  abashed,  faced 
the  radiant  parents,  the  two  portly  doc- 
139 


Lovey  Mary 

tors,  and  the  servants  in  the  "back 
ground. 

"I  learned  on  Tommy/7  she  said  in 
a  low  voice.  "He  swallered  a  penny 
once  that  we  was  going  to  buy  candy 
with.  I  did  n't  have  another,  so  I  had 
to  shake  it  out." 

During  the  laugh  that  followed,  she 
and  Asia  escaped,  but  not  before  Mr. 
Bedding  had  slipped  a  bill  into  her 
hand,  and  the  beautiful  Mrs.  Kedding 
had  actually  given  her  a  kiss ! 


140 


CHAPTER   XI 


THE   CHRISTMAS   PLAY 
"  Not  failure,  but  low  aim,  is  crime." 

S  the  holiday  season  ap 
proached,  a  rumor  be 
gan  to  be  circulated  that 
the  Cabbage  Patch  Sun 
day-school  would  have 
an  entertainment  as  well  as  a  Christmas 
tree.  The  instigator  of  this  new  move 
ment  was  Jake  Schultz,  whose  histrionic 
ambition  had  been  fired  during  his  ap 
prenticeship  as  "super"  at  the  opera- 
house. 

"I  know  a  man  what  rents  costumes, 
an'  the  promp '-books  to  go  with  'em," 
he  said  to  several  of  the  boys  one  Sun 
day  afternoon.    "If  we  all  chip  in  we 
141 


Lovey  Mary 

kin  raise  the  price,  an'  git  it  back  easy 
by  chargin'  admittance. ' ' 

"Aw,  shucks  I"  said  Chris.  "We 
don't  know  nothin'  'bout  play-actin '. " 

"We  kin  learn  all  right,"  said  Billy 
Wiggs.  ' '  I  bid  to  be  the  feller  that  acts 
on  the  trapeze." 

The  other  boys  approving  of  the  plan, 
it  was  agreed  that  Jake  should  call  on 
the  costumer  at  his  earliest  convenience. 

One  night  a  week  later  Lovey  Mary 
was  getting  supper  when  she  heard  an 
imperative  rap  on  the  door.  It  was 
Jake  Schultz.  He  mysteriously  beck 
oned  her  out  on  the  steps,  and  closed 
the  door  behind  them. 

"Have  you  ever  acted  any!"  he 
asked. 

"I  used  to  say  pieces  at  the  home," 
said  Lovey  Mary,  forgetting  herself. 

"Well,  do  you  think  you  could  take 
leadin'  lady  in  the  entertainment?" 
142 


Have  you  ever  acted  any?'  he  asked." 


The  Christmas  Play 

Lovey  Mary  had  no  idea  what  the 
lady  was  expected  to  lead,  but  she  knew 
that  she  was  being  honored,  and  she  was 
thrilled  at  the  prospect. 

"I  know  some  arm-exercises,  and  I 
could  sing  for  them,"  she  offered. 

"Oh,  no,"  explained  Jake;  "it 's  a 
play,  a  regular  theayter  play.  I  got  the 
book  and  the  costumes  down  on  Market 
street.  The  man  did  n't  have  but  this 
one  set  of  costumes  on  hand,  so  I  did  n't 
have  no  choice.  It  's  a  bully  play,  all 
right,  though!  I  seen  it  oncet,  an'  I 
know  how  it  all  ought  to  go.  It  's  named 
'Forst,'  er  somethin'  like  that.  I  'm 
goin'  to  be  the  devil,  an'  wear  a  red 
suit,  an'  have  my  face  all  streaked  up, 
Billy  he  's  goin'  to  be  the  other  feller 
what  's  stuck  on  the  girl.  He  tole  me 
to  ast  you  to  be  her.  Your  dress  is  white 
with  cords  an'  tassels  on  it,  an'  the 
sleeves  ain't  sewed  up.  Beckon  you 
145 


Lovey  Mary 

could  learn  the  part?  We  ain't  goin'  to 
give  it  all." 

'  i  I  can  learn  anything ! ' '  cried  Lovey 
Mary,  recklessly.  "Already  know  the 
alphabet  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  back 
ward.  Is  the  dress  short-sleeve?  And 
does  it  drag  in  the  back  when  you 
walk?" 

' '  Yep, ' '  said  Jake,  ' '  an '  the  man  said 
you  was  to  plait  your  hair  in  two  parts 
an'  let  'em  hang  over  your  shoulders. 
I  don't  see  why  it  would  n't  be  pretty 
for  you  to  sing  somethin',  too.  Ever'- 
body  is  so  stuck  on  yer  singin'." 

1  i  All  right, ' '  said  Lovey  Mary,  enthu 
siastically;  "you  bring  the  book  over 
and  show  me  where  my  part  's  at.  And, 
Jake, ' '  she  called  as  he  started  off, l '  you 
tell  Billy  I  '11  be  glad  to." 

For  the  next  ten  days  Lovey  Mary 
dwelt  in  Elysium.  The  prompt-book, 
the  rehearsals,  the  consultations,  filled 
146 


The  Christmas  Play 

the  spare  moments  and  threw  a  glamour 
over  the  busy  ones.  Jake,  with  his  vast 
experience  and  unlimited  knowledge  of 
stage-craft,  appealed  to  her  in  every 
thing.  He  sat  on  a  barrel  and  told 
how  they  did  things  "up  to  the  opery- 
house,"  and  Lovey  Mary,  seizing  his 
suggestions  with  burning  zeal,  refitted 
the  costumes,  constructed  scenery,  ham 
mered  her  own  nails  as  well  as  the  iron 
ones,  and  finally  succeeded  in  putting 
into  practice  his  rather  vague  theories. 
For  the  first  time  in  her  life  she  was  a 
person  of  importance. 

Besides  her  numerous  other  duties  she 
prepared  an  elaborate  costume  for 
Tommy.  This  had  caused  her  some 
trouble,  for  Miss  Hazy,  who  was  sent 
to  buy  the  goods  for  the  trousers,  ex 
ercised  unwise  economy  in  buying  two 
remnants  which  did  not  match  in  color 
or  pattern. 

147 


Lovey  Mary 

"Why  did  n't  you  put  your  mind  on 
it,  Miss  Hazy?"  asked  Lovey  Mary, 
making  a  heroic  effort  to  keep  her  tem 
per.  ' '  You  might  have  known  I  could  n  't 
take  Tommy  to  the  show  with  one  blue 
leg  and  one  brown  one.  What  must  I 
do?" 

Miss  Hazy  sat  dejectedly  in  the  cor 
ner,  wiping  her  eyes  on  her  apron.  * '  You 
might  go  ast  Mis'  Wiggs,"  she  sug 
gested  as  a  forlorn  hope. 

When  Mrs.  Wiggs  was  told  the 
trouble  she  smiled  reassuringly.  Emer 
gencies  were  to  her  the  spice  of  life; 
they  furnished  opportunities  for  the  ex 
pression  of  her  genius. 

' l  Hush  cryin ',  Miss  Hazy ;  there  ain  't 
a  speck  of  harm  did.  Mary  kin  make 
the  front  outen  one  piece  an'  the  back 
outen  the  other.  Nobody  won't  never 
know  the  difference,  'cause  Tommy 
can't  be  goin'  an'  comin'  at  the  same 
time." 

148 


The  Christmas  Play 

The  result  was  highly  satisfactory, 
that  is,  to  everybody  but  Tommy.  He 
complained  that  there  ' l  was  n  't  no  room 
to  set  down." 

On  Christmas  night  the  aristocracy  of 
the  Cabbage  Patch  assembled  in  the 
school-house  to  enjoy  the  double  attrac 
tion  of  a  Christmas  tree  and  an  enter 
tainment.  Mr.  Rothchild,  who  had  ar 
ranged  the  tree  for  the  last  ten  years, 
refused  to  have  it  moved  from  its  ac 
customed  place,  which  was  almost  in  the 
center  of  the  platform.  He  had  been 
earnestly  remonstrated  with,  but  he  and 
the  tree  remained  firm.  Mrs.  Eothchild 
and  all  the  little  Rothchildren  had 
climbed  in  by  the  window  before  the 
doors  were  open  in  order  to  secure  the 
front  seats.  Immediately  behind  them 
sat  the  Hazys  and  the  Wiggses. 

"That  there  is  the  seminary  student 
gittin'  up  now,"  whispered  Mrs.  Wiggs. 
149 


Lovey  Mary 

"He  's  goin'  to  call  out  the  pieces.  My 
land !  ain  't  he  washed  out  ?  Looks  like 
he  'd  go  into  a  trance  fer  fifty  cents. 
Hush,  Australia !  don 't  you  see  he  is  go- 
in'  to  pray?" 

After  the  opening  prayer,  the  young 
preacher  suggested  that,  as  long  as  the 
speakers  were  not  quite  ready,  the  audi 
ence  should  " raise  a  hymn." 

"He  's  got  a  fine  voice,"  whispered 
Miss  Hazy;  "I  beared  'em  say  he  was 
the  gentleman  soprano  at  a  down-town 
church. ' ' 

When  the  religious  exercises  were 
completed,  the  audience  settled  into  a 
state  of  pleasurable  anticipation. 

"The  first  feature  of  the  entertain 
ment,"  announced  the  preacher,  "will 
be  a  song  by  Miss  Europena  Wiggs." 

Europena  stepped  forward  and,  with 
hands  close  to  her  sides  and  anguished 
150 


"Europena  stepped  forward. " 


The  Christmas  Play 

eyes  on  the  ceiling,  gasped  forth  the 
agonized  query: 

"  Can  she  make  a  cheery-pie, 

Billy  boy,  Billy  boy? 
Can  she  make  a  cheery-pie, 
Charming  Billy?" 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there 
were  eight  verses,  an  encore  was  de 
manded.  Mrs.  Wiggs  rose  in  her  seat 
and  beckoned  vehemently  to  Europena. 
"Come  on  back!"  she  motioned  vio 
lently  with  her  lips.  "They  want  you 
to  come  back." 

Europena,  in  a  state  of  utter  bewil 
derment,  returned  to  the  stage. 

"Say  another  speech!"  whispered 
Mrs.  Wiggs,  leaning  over  so  far  that  she 
knocked  Mrs.  Eothchild's  bonnet  awry. 
Still  Europena  stood  there,  an  evident 
victim  of  lockjaw. 

"  «I  have  a  little  finger,'  "  prompted 
her  mother  frantically  from  the  second 
row  front. 

153 


Lovey  Mary 

A  single  ray  of  intelligence  flickered 
for  a  moment  over  the  child's  face,  and 
with  a  supreme  effort  she  said: 

11 1  have  a  little  finger, 

An'  I  have  a  little  beau ; 
When  I  get  a  little  bigger 
I  '11  have  a  little  toe." 

"Well,  she  got  it  all  in,"  said  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  in  a  relieved  tone,  as  Europena 
was  lifted  down. 

After  this,  other  little  girls  came  for 
ward  and  made  some  unintelligible  re 
marks  concerning  Santa  Clans.  It  was 
with  some  difficulty  that  they  went 
through  their  parts,  for  Mr.  Rothchild 
kept  getting  in  the  way  as  he  calmly 
and  uncompromisingly  continued  to 
hang  cornucopias  on  the  tree.  Songs 
and  recitations  followed,  but  even  the 
youngest  spectator  realized  that  these 
were  only  preliminary  skirmishes. 

At  last  a  bell  rang.  Two  bedspreads 
154 


The  Christmas  Play 

which  served  as  curtains  were  majesti 
cally  withdrawn.  A  sigh  of  admiration 
swept  the  room.  " Ain't  he  cute!" 
whispered  a  girl  in  the  rear,  as  Billy 
rose  resplendent  in  pink  tights  and 
crimson  doublet,  and  folding  his  arms 
high  on  his  breast,  recited  in  a  deep 
voice : 

"  I  have,  alas  !  philosophy, 

Medicine,  jurisprudence  too, 
And,  to  my  cost,  theology 

With  ardent  lafcor  studied  through." 

"I  don't  see  no  sense  in  what  he  's 
sayin'  at  all,"  whispered  Miss  Hazy. 

"It  's  jes  what  was  in  the  book,"  an 
swered  Mrs.  Wiggs,  '  '  'cause  I  beared 
him  repeat  it  off  before  supper." 

The  entrance  of  Jake  awakened  the 
flagging  interest.  Nobody  understood 
what  he  said  either,  but  he  made  hor 
rible  faces,  and  waved  his  red  arms, 
and  caused  a  pleasant  diversion. 
155 


Lovey  Mary 

"Maw,  what  's  John  Bagby  a-handin' 
round  in  that  little  saucer  2"  asked 
Australia. 

1  '  Fer  the  mercy  sake !  I  don 't  know, ' ' 
answered  her  mother,  craning  her  neck 
to  see. 

John,  with  creaking  footsteps,  tiptoed 
to  the  front  of  the  stage,  and  stooping 
down,  began  to  mix  a  concoction  in  a 
plate.  Many  stood  up  to  see  what  he 
was  doing,  and  conjecture  was  rife. 
Mephisto  and  Faust  were  forgotten  un 
til  Jake  struck  a  heroic  pose,  and  grasp 
ing  Billy's  arm,  said  hoarsely: 

' i  Gaze,  Faustis,  gaze  into  pairdition ! ' ' 

John  put  a  match  to  the  powder,  a 
bright  red  light  filled  the  room,  and  the 
audience,  following  the  index-finger  of 
the  impassioned  Mephisto,  gazed  into 
the  placid,  stupid  faces  of  four  meek 
little  boys  on  the  mourners'  bench. 

Before  the  violent  coughing  caused 
156 


f 

crc 

p" 
p 

E 


The  Christmas  Play 

by  the  calcium  fumes  had  ceased,  a  vi 
sion  in  white  squeezed  past  Mr.  Roth- 
child  and  came  slowly  down  to  the  edge 
of  the  platform.  It  was  Lovey  Mary 
as  Marguerite.  Her  long  dress  swept 
about  her  feet,  her  heavy  hair  hung  in 
thick  braids  over  both  shoulders,  and  a 
burning  red  spot  glowed  on  each  cheek. 
For  a  moment  she  stood  as  Jake  had 
directed,  with  head  thrown  back  and 
eyes  cast  heavenward,  then  she  began  to 
recite.  The  words  poured  from  her  lips 
with  a  volubility  that  would  have 
shamed  an  auctioneer.  It  was  a  long 
part,  full  of  hard  words,  but  she  knew 
it  perfectly  and  was  determined  to  show 
how  fast  she  could  say  it  without  making 
a  mistake.  It  was  only  when  she  fin 
ished  that  she  paused  for  breath.  Then 
she  turned  slowly,  and  stretching  forth 
appealing  arms  to  Faust,  sang  in  a  high, 
sweet  voice,  "I  Need  Thee  Every 
Hour." 

159 


Lovey  Mary 

The  effect  was  electrical.  At  last  the 
Cabbage  Patch  understood  what  was  go 
ing  on.  The  roof  rang  with  applause. 
Even  Mr.  Rothchild  held  aside  his 
strings  of  pop-corn  to  let  Marguerite 
pass  out. 

"S'  more!  S'  more!"  was  the  cry. 
"Sing  it  ag'in!" 

Jake  stepped  before  the  curtain.  "If 
our  friends  is  willm',"  he  said,  "we  '11 
repeat  over  the  last  ak." 

Again  Lovey  Mary  scored  a  triumph. 
John  Bagby  burned  the  rest  of  the  cal 
cium  powder  during  the  last  verse,  and 
the  entertainment  concluded  in  a  pro 
longed  cheer. 


160 


CHAPTER   XII 


EEACTION 
"Our  remedies  oft  in  ourselves  do  lie." 

HEN  the  paint  and  pow 
der  had  been  washed 
off,  and  Tommy  had 
with  difficulty  been  ex 
tracted  from  his  new 
trousers  and  put  to  bed, 
Lovey  Mary  sat  before  the  little  stove 
and  thought  it  all  over.  It  had  been 
the  very  happiest  time  of  her  whole 
life.  How  nice  it  was  to  be  praised 
and  made  much  of!  Mrs.  Wiggs  had 
started  it  by  calling  everybody's  at 
tention  to  her  good  points;  then  Mrs. 
Redding  had  sought  her  out  and  shown 
her  continued  attention;  to-night  was 
the  great  climax.  Her  name  had  been 
on  every  tongue,  her  praises  sung  on 
every  side,  and  Billy  Wiggs  had  given 
161 


Lovey  Mary 

her  everything  he  got  off  the  Christmas 
tree. 

"I  wisht  I  deserved  it  all,"  she  said, 
as  she  got  up  to  pull  the  blanket  closer 
about  Tommy.  "I  've  tried  to  be  good. 
I  guess  I  am  better  in  some  ways,  but 
not  in  all— not  in  all. ' '  She  knelt  by  the 
bed  and  held  Tommy's  hand  to  her 
cheek.  "Sometimes  he  looks  like  Kate 
when  he  's  asleep  like  this.  I  wonder 
if  she  's  got  well  ?  I  wonder  if  she  ever 
misses  him?" 

For  a  long  time  she  knelt  there,  hold 
ing  the  warm  little  hand  in  hers.  The 
play,  the  success,  the  applause,  were  all 
forgotten,  and  in  their  place  was  a 
shame,  a  humiliation,  that  brought  the 
hot  tears  to  her  eyes. 

"I  ain't  what  they  think  I  am,"  she 

whispered  brokenly.    "I  'ma  mean,  bad 

girl  after  all.  The  canker-worm  's  there. 

Miss  Viny  said  there  never  would  be  a 

162 


Reaction 


sure-'nough  beautiful  flower  till  the 
canker-worm  was  killed.  But  I  want  to 
be  good;  I  want  to  be  what  they  think 
lam!" 

Again  and  again  the  old  thoughts  of 
Kate  rose  to  taunt  and  madden  her.  But 
a  new  power  was  at  work;  it  brought 
new  thoughts  of  Kate,  of  Kate  sick  and 
helpless,  of  Kate  without  friends  and 
lonely,  calling  for  her  baby.  Through 
the  night  the  battle  raged  within  her. 
When  the  first  gray  streaks  showed 
through  the  shutters,  Lovey  Mary 
cleaned  her  room  and  put  on  her  Sunday 
dress.  "I  '11  be  a  little  late  to  the  fac 
tory,"  she  explained  to  Miss  Hazy  at 
breakfast,  "for  I  Ve  got  to  go  on  a' 
errand. ' ' 

It  was  an  early  hour  for  visitors  at 

the  city  hospital,  but  when  Lovey  Mary 

stated  her  business  she  was  shown  to 

Kate's  ward.     At  the  far  end  of  the 

163 


Lovey  Mary 

long  room,  with  her  bandaged  head 
turned  to  the  wall,  lay  Kate.  When  the 
nurse  spoke  to  her  she  turned  her  head 
painfully,  and  looked  at  them  listlessly 
with  great  black  eyes  that  stared  forth 
from  a  face  wasted  and  wan  from  suf 
fering. 

"Kate!"  said  Lovey  Mary,  leaning 
across  the  bed  and  touching  her  hand. 
* '  Kate,  don 't  you  know  me ! ' ' 

The  pale  lips  tightened  over  the 
prominent  white  teeth.  "Well,  I  swan, 
Lovey  Mary,  where  'd  you  come  from  ? ' ' 
Not  waiting  for  an  answer,  she  continued 
querulously:  "Say,  can't  you  get  me 
out  of  this  hole  someway?  But  even  if 
I  had  the  strength  to  crawl,  I  would  n't 
have  no  place  to  go.  Can't  you  take  me 
away  1  Anywhere  would  do. ' ' 

Lovey  Mary's  spirits  fell;  she  had 
nerved  herself  for  a  great  sacrifice,  had 
decided  to  do  her  duty  at  any  cost;  but 
164 


Reaction 


thinking  of  it  beforehand  in  her  little 
garret  room,  with  Tommy  *s  hand  in 
hers,  and  Kate  Rider  a  mere  abstraction, 
was  very  different  from  facing  the  real 
issue,  with  the  old,  selfish,  heartless 
Kate  in  flesh  and  blood  before  her.  She 
let  go  of  Kate's  hand. 

" Don't  you  want  to  know  about  Tom 
my  ?"  she  asked.  "I  've  come  to  say  I 
was  sorry  I  run  off  with  him." 

"It  was  mighty  nervy  in  you.  I 
knew  you  'd  take  good  care  of  him, 
though.  But  say !  you  can  get  me  away 
from  this,  can't  you?  I  ain't  got  a 
friend  in  the  world  nor  a  cent  of  money. 
But  I  ain't  going  to  stay  here,  where 
there  ain't  nothing  to  do,  and  I  get  so 
lonesome  I  'most  die.  I  'd  rather  set 
on  a  street  corner  and  run  a  hand- 
organ.  Where  are  you  and  Tommy 
at!" 

"We  are  in  the  Cabbage  Patch,"  said 
165 


Lovey  Mary 

Lovey  Mary,  with  the  old  repulsion 
strong  upon  her. 

"Where?" 

"The  Cabbage  Patch.  It  ain't  your 
sort  of  a  place,  Kate.  The  folks  are 
good  and  honest,  but  they  are  poor  and 
plain.  You  'd  laugh  at  'em." 

Kate  turned  her  eyes  to  the  window 
and  was  silent  a  moment  before  she  said 
slowly : 

"I  ain't  got  much  right  to  laugh  at 
nobody.  I  'd  be  sorter  glad  to  get  with 
good  people  again.  The  other  sort  's 
all  right  when  you  're  out  for  fun,  but 
when  you  're  down  on  your  luck  they 
ain't  there." 

Lovey  Mary,  perplexed  and  troubled, 
looked  at  her  gravely. 

"Have  n't  you  got  any  place  you 
could  go  to?" 

Kate  shook  her  head.  ' '  Nobody  would 
be  willing  to  look  after  me  and  nurse 
166 


Reaction 


me.  Lovey,"— she  stretched  her  thin 
hand  across  to  her  entreatingly,— "take 
me  home  with  you !  I  heard  the  doctor 
tell  the  nurse  he  could  n't  do  nothing 
more  for  me.  I  can't  die  here  shut  up 
with  all  these  sick  people.  Take  me 
wherever  you  are  at.  I  '11  try  not  to 
be  no  trouble,  and— I  want  to  keep 
straight. ' ' 

Tears  were  in  her  eyes,  and  her  lips 
trembled.  There  was  a  queer  little 
spasm  at  Lovey  Mary's  heart.  The 
canker-worm  was  dead. 

When  a  carriage  drove  up  to  Miss 
Hazy's  door  and  the  driver  carried  in 
a  pale  girl  with  a  bandaged  head,  it 
caused  untold  commotion. 

"Do  you  s'pose  Mary  's  a-bringin' 
home  a  smallpox  patient?"  asked  Miss 
Hazy,  who  was  ever  prone  to  look  upon 
the  tragic  side. 

"Naw!"  said  Chris,  who  was  peep- 
169 


Lovey  Mary 

ing  under  the  window-curtain;  "it  looks 
more  like  she  's  busted  her  crust. ' ' 

In  less  than  an  hour  every  neighbor 
had  been  in  to  find  out  what  was  going 
on.  Mrs.  Wiggs  constituted  herself  mis 
tress  of  ceremonies.  She  had  heard  the 
whole  story  from  the  overburdened 
Mary,  and  was  now  prepared  to  direct 
public  opinion  in  the  way  it  should  go. 

"Jes  another  boarder  for  Miss 
Hazy,"  she  explained  airily  to  Mrs. 
Eichorn.  "Lovey  Mary  was  so  well 
pleased  with  her  boardin '-house,  she 
drummed  it  up  among  her  friends.  This 
here  lady  has  been  at  the  hospittal.  She 
got  knocked  over  by  a  wagon  out  there 
near  the  factory,  an'  it  run  into  cele 
brated  concussion.  The  nurse  told 
Lovey  Mary  this  mornin'  it  was  some- 
thin'  like  information  of  the  brain. 
What  we  're  all  goin'  to  do  is  to  try 
to  get  her  well.  I  'm  a-goin'  home  now 
170 


Reaction 


to  git  her  a  nice  dinner,  an'  I  jes  bet 
some  of  you  '11  see  to  it  that  she  gits  a 
good  supper.  You  kin  jes  bank  on  us 
knowin'  how  to  give  a  stranger  a  wel 
come!" 

It  was  easy  to  establish  a  precedent 
in  the  Cabbage  Patch.  When  a  certain 
course  of  action  was  once  understood 
to  be  the  proper  thing,  every  resident 
promptly  fell  in  line.  The  victim  of 
"celebrated  concussion"  was  over 
whelmed  with  attention.  She  lay  in  a 
pink  wrapper  in  Miss  Hazy's  kitchen, 
and  received  the  homage  of  the  neigh 
borhood.  Meanwhile  Lovey  Mary 
worked  extra  hours  at  the  factory  and 
did  sewing  at  night  to  pay  for  Kate's 
board. 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  kind  treat 
ment  and  the  regular  administration  of 
Miss  Viny's  herbs  and  Mrs.  Wiggs's 
yellowroot,  Kate  grew  weaker  day  by 
171 


Lovey  Mary 

day.  One  stormy  night  when  Lovey 
Mary  carne  home  from  the  factory  she 
found  her  burning  with  fever  and  talk 
ing  excitedly.  Miss  Hazy  had  gotten 
her  up-stairs,  and  now  stood  helplessly 
wringing  her  hands  in  the  doorway. 

"Lor',  Lovey  Mary!  she  's  cuttin'  up 
scandalous, "  complained  the  old  lady. 
"I  done  everything  I  knowed  how;  I 
ironed  the  sheets  to  make  'em  warm,  an' 
I  tried  my  best  to  git  her  to  swallow 
a  mustard  cocktail.  I  wanted  her  to 
lemme  put  a  fly-blister  on  to  her  head, 
too,  but  she  won't  do  nothin'." 

"All  right,  Miss  Hazy,"  said  Lovey 
Mary,  hanging  her  dripping  coat  on  a 
nail.  "I  '11  stay  with  her  now.  Don't 
talk,  Kate!  Try  to  be  still." 

"But  I  can't,  Lovey.    I  'm  going  to 

die,  and  I  ain't  fit  to  die.    I  've  been  so 

bad   and  wicked,   I    'm    'fraid   to   go, 

Lovey.    What  '11 1  do !    What  '11 1  do  ?  " 

172 


Reaction 


In  vain  the  girl  tried  to  soothe  her. 
Her  hysteria  increased;  she  cried  and 
raved  and  threw  herself  from  side  to 
side. 

1 '  Kate !  Kate ! ' '  pleaded  Lovey  Mary, 
trying  to  hold  her  arms,  "don't  cry  so. 
God  '11  forgive  you.  He  will,  if  you 
are  sorry." 

"But  I  'm  afraid,"  shuddered  Kate. 
"I  ?ve  been  so  bad.  Heaven  knows 
I  'm  sorry,  but  it  's  too  late !  Too  late ! ' ' 
Another  paroxysm  seized  her,  and  her 
cries  burst  forth  afresh. 

Mary,  in  desperation,  rushed  from  the 
room.  "Tommy!"  she  called  softly 
down  the  steps. 

The  small  boy  was  sitting  on  the 
stairs,  in  round-eyed  wonder  at  what 
was  going  on. 

"Tommy,"  said  Lovey  Mary,  pick 
ing  him  up,  ' l  the  sick  lady  feels  so  bad ! 
Go  in  and  give  her  a  love,  darling.    Pet 
173 


Lovey  Mary 

her  cheeks  and  hug  her  like  you  do  me. 
Tell  her  she  's  a  pretty  mama.  Tell  her 
you  love  her." 

Tommy  trotted  obediently  into  the 
low  room  and  climbed  on  the  bed.  He 
put  his  plump  cheek  against  the  thin 
one,  and  whispered  words  of  baby-love. 
Kate's  muscles  relaxed  as  her  arms 
folded  about  him.  Gradually  her  sobs 
ceased  and  her  pulse  grew  faint  and 
fainter.  Outside,  the  rain  and  sleet  beat 
on  the  cracked  window-pane,  but  a  peace 
had  entered  the  dingy  little  room.  Kate 
received  the  great  summons  with  a 
smile,  for  in  one  fleeting  moment  she 
had  felt  for  the  first  and  last  time  the 
blessed  sanctity  of  motherhood. 


174 


CHAPTER 


FT 


AN   HONORABLE   RETREAT 

"For  I  will  ease  my  heart 
Although  it  be  with  hazard 
Of  my  head." 

lISS  BELL  sat  in  her 
I^/I  5  neat  little  office,  with  the 
1°  J[  f  evening  paper  in  her 
hand.  The  hour  before 
tea  was  the  one  time  of 
the  day  she  reserved  for  herself.  Susie 
Smithers  declared  that  she  sat  "before 
the  fire  at  such  times  and  took  naps,  but 
Susie 's  knowledge  was  not  always  trust 
worthy—it  depended  entirely  on  the 
position  of  the  keyhole. 

At  any  rate,  Miss  Bell  was  not  sleep 
ing  to-night ;  she  moved  about  restlessly, 
brushing  imaginary  ashes  from  the  spot- 
175 


10     L. 


Lovey  Mary 

less  hearth,  staring  absently  into  the 
fire,  then  recurring  again  and  again  to 
an  item  in  the  paper  which  she  held : 

DIED.    Kate  Rider,  in  her  twenty-fourth  year,  from 
injuries  received  in  an  accident. 

Miss  Bell  seemed  to  cringe  before  the 
words.  Her  face  looked  old  and  drawn. 
"And  to  think  I  kept  her  from  having 
her  child!"  she  said  to  herself  as  she 
paced  up  and  down  the  narrow  room. 
1 '  No  matter  what  else  Kate  was,  she  was 
his  mother  and  had  the  first  right  to 
him.  But  I  acted  for  the  best ;  I  could 
see  no  other  way.  If  I  had  only 
known ! ' ' 

There  were  steps  on  the  pavement 
without;  she  went  to  the  window,  and 
shading  her  eyes  with  her  hands,  gazed 
into  the  gathering  dusk.  Some  one  was 
coming  up  the  walk,  some  one  very 
short  and  fat.  No ;  it  was  a  girl  carry- 
176 


Susie  Smithers  at  the  keyhole. 


An  Honorable  Retreat 

ing  a  child.  Miss  Bell  reached  the  door 
just  in  time  to  catch  Tommy  in  her  arms 
as  Lovey  Mary  staggered  into  the  hall. 
They  were  covered  with  sleet  and  almost 
numb  from  the  cold. 

"Kate  's  dead!"  cried  Lovey  Mary, 
as  Miss  Bell  hurried  them  into  the  office. 
"I  did  n't  know  she  was  going  to  die. 
Oh,  I  Ve  been  so  wicked  to  you  and  to 
Kate  and  to  God !  I  want  to  be  arrested ! 
I  don't  care  what  they  do  to  me." 

She  threw  herself  on  the  floor,  and 
beat  her  fists  on  the  carpet.  Tommy 
stood  near  and  wept  in  sympathy;  he 
wore  his  remnant  trousers,  and  his  little 
straw  hat,  round  which  Mrs.  Wiggs  had 
sewn  a  broad  band  of  black. 

Miss  Bell  hovered  over  Lovey  Mary 
and  patted  her  nervously  on  the  back. 
"Don't,  my  dear,  don't  cry  so.  It  's 
very  sad— dear  me,  yes,  very  sad.  You 
are  n't  alone  to  blame,  though;  I  have 
179 


Lovey  Mary 

been  at  fault,  too.  I— I— feel  dread 
fully  about  it." 

Miss  Bell's  face  was  undergoing  such 
painful  contortions  that  Lovey  Mary 
stopped  crying  in  alarm,  and  Tommy 
got  behind  a  chair. 

"Of  course,"  continued  Miss  Bell, 
gaining  control  of  herself,  "it  was 
very  wrong  of  you  to  run  away,  Mary. 
When  I  discovered  that  you  had  gone  I 
never  stopped  until  I  found  you." 

"Till  you  found  me?"  gasped  Lovey 
Mary. 

"Yes,  child;  I  knew  where  you  were 
all  the  time." 

Again  Miss  Bell's  features  were  con 
vulsed,  and  Mary  and  Tommy  looked 
on  in  awed  silence.  "You  see,"  she 
went  on  presently,  "I  am  just  as  much 
at  fault  as  you.  I  was  worried  and  dis 
tressed  over  having  to  let  Tommy  go 
with  Kate,  yet  there  seemed  no  way  out 
180 


An  Honorable  Retreat 

of  it.  When  I  found  you  had  hidden 
him  away  in  a  safe  place,  that  you  were 
both  well  and  happy,  I  determined  to 
keep  your  secret.  But  oh,  Mary,  we 
had  n't  the  right  to  keep  him  from  her ! 
Perhaps  the  child  would  have  been  her 
salvation ;  perhaps  she  would  have  died 
a  good  girl." 

"But  she  did,  Miss  Bell,"  said  Lovey 
Mary,  earnestly.  "She  said  she  was 
sorry  again  and  again,  and  when  she 
went  to  sleep  Tommy's  arms  was  round 
her  neck." 

'  '  Mary ! ' '  cried  Miss  Bell,  seizing  the 
girl's  hand  eagerly,  "did  you  find  her 
and  take  him  to  her?" 

"No,  ma'am.  I  brought  her  to  him. 
She  did  n't  have  no  place  to  go,  and  I 
wanted  to  make  up  to  her  for  hating  her 
so.  I  did  ever 'thing  I  could  to  make  her 
well.  We  all  did.  I  never  thought  she 
was  going  to  die." 
11  L-  181 


Lovey  Mary 

Then,  at  Miss  Bell's  request,  Lovey 
Mary  told  her  story,  with  many  sobs  and 
tears,  but  some  smiles  in  between,  over 
the  good  times  in  the  Cabbage  Patch; 
and  when  she  had  finished,  Miss  Bell 
led  her  over  to  the  sofa  and  put  her  arms 
about  her.  They  had  lived  under  the 
same  roof  for  fifteen  years,  and  she  had 
never  before  given  her  a  caress. 

61  Mary, "  she  said,  "you  did  for  Kate 
what  nobody  else  could  have  done.  I 
thank  God  that  it  all  happened  as  it 
did." 

' '  But  you  Jd  orter  scold  me  and  pun 
ish  me,"  said  Lovey  Mary.  "I  'd  feel 
better  if  you  did." 

Tommy,  realizing  in  some  vague  way 
that  a  love-feast  was  in  progress,  and 
always  ready  to  echo  Lovey  Mary's 
sentiments,  laid  his  chubby  hand  on 
Miss  Bell's  knee. 

"When  my  little  sled  drows  up  I  'm 
182 


An  Honorable  Retreat 

doin'  to  take  you  ridiny  he  said  con 
fidingly. 

Miss  Bell  laughed  a  hearty  laugh,  for 
the  first  time  in  many  months.  The 
knotty  problem  which  had  caused  her 
many  sleepless  nights  had  at  last  found 
its  own  solution. 


183 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE   CACTUS  BLOOMS 

"  I  tell  thee  love  is  nature's  second  sun, 
Causing  a  spring  of  virtues  where  he  shines." 

T  was  June  again,  and 
once  more  Lovey  Mary 
stood  at  an  up-stairs 
window  at  the  home. 
On  the  ledge  grew  a  row 
of  bright  flowers,  brought  from  Miss 
Viny  's  garden,  but  they  were  no  brighter 
than  the  face  that  smiled  across  them 
at  the  small  boy  in  the  playground  be 
low.  Lovey  Mary's  sleeves  were  rolled 
above  her  elbows,  and  a  dust-cloth  was 
tied  about  her  head.  As  she  returned 
to  her  sweeping  she  sang  joyfully,  con 
tentedly  : 

"  Can  she  sweep  a  kitchen  floor, 
Billy  boy,  Billy  boy? 

184 


The  Cactus  Blooms 

Can  she  sweep  a  kitchen  floor, 
Charming  Billy?" 

' i  Miss  Bell  says  for  you  to  come 
down  to  the  office/ '  announced  a  little 
girl,  coming  up  the  steps.  i '  There  's  a 
lady  there  and  a  baby." 

Lovey  Mary  paused  in  her  work,  and 
a  shadow  passed  over  her  face.  Just 
three  years  ago  the  same  summons  had 
come,  and  with  it  such  heartaches  and 
anxiety.  She  pulled  down  her  sleeves 
and  went  thoughtfully  down  the  steps. 
At  the  office  door  she  found  Mrs.  Bed 
ding  talking  to  Miss  Bell. 

"We  leave  Saturday  afternoon, "  she 
was  saying.  "It  's  rather  sooner  than 
we  expected,  but  we  want  to  get  the 
baby  to  Canada  before  the  hot  weather 
overtakes  us.  Last  summer  I  asked  two 
children  from  the  Toronto  home  to 
spend  two  weeks  with  me  at  our  summer 
place,  but  this  year  I  have  set  my  heart 
185 


Lovey  Mary 

on  taking  Lovey  Mary  and  Tommy. 
They  will  see  Niagara  Falls  and  Buf 
falo,  where  we  stop  over  a  day,  besides 
the  little  outing  at  the  lake.  Will  you 
come,  Mary?  You  know  Robert  might 
get  choked  again ! ' ' 

Lovey  Mary  leaned  against  the  door 
for  support.  A  half-hour  visit  to  Mrs. 
Redding  was  excitement  for  a  week,  and 
only  to  think  of  going  away  with  her, 
and  riding  on  a  steam-car,  and  seeing  a 
lake,  and  taking  Tommy,  and  being  ever 
so  small  a  part  of  that  gorgeous  Red 
ding  household!  She  could  not  speak; 
she  just  looked  up  and  smiled,  but  the 
smile  seemed  to  mean  more  than  words, 
for  it  brought  the  sudden  tears  to  Mrs. 
Redding 's  eyes.  She  gave  Mary's  hand 
a  quick,  understanding  little  squeeze, 
then  hurried  out  to  her  carriage. 

That  very  afternoon  Lovey  Mary 
went  to  the  Cabbage  Patch.  As  she  hur- 
186 


The  Cactus  Blooms 

ried  along  over  the  familiar  ground,  she 
felt  as  if  she  must  sing  aloud  the  happy 
song  that  was  humming  in  her  heart. 
She  wanted  to  stop  at  each  cottage  and 
tell  the  good  news;  but  her  time  was 
limited,  so  she  kept  on  her  way  to  Miss 
Hazy 's,  merely  calling  out  a  greeting  as 
she  passed.  When  she  reached  the  door 
she  heard  Mrs.  Wiggs's  voice  in  ani 
mated  conversation. 

"Well,  I  wish  you  'd  look!  There 
she  is,  this  very  minute!  I  never  was 
so  glad  to  see  anybody  in  my  life !  My 
goodness,  child,  you  don 't  know  how  we 
miss  you  down  here !  We  talk  'bout  you 
all  the  time,  jes  like  a  person  puts  their 
tongue  in  the  empty  place  after  a 
tooth  's  done  pulled  out." 

"I  'm  awful  glad  to  be  back,"  said 
Lovey  Mary,  too  happy  to  be  cast  down 
by  the  reversion  to  the  original  state 
of  the  Hazy  household. 
187 


Lovey  Mary 

"Me  an'  Chris  ain't  had  a  comfort 
able  day  sence  you  left,"  complained 
Miss  Hazy.  l  i  I  'd  'a '  almost  rather  you 
would  n't  'a'  came  than  to  have  went 
away  ag'in." 

"But  listen!"  cried  Lovey  Mary,  un 
able  to  keep  her  news  another  minute. 
"I  'm  a-going  on  a  railroad  trip  with 
Mrs.  Kedding,  and  she  's  going  to  take 
Tommy,  too,  and  we  are  going  to  see 
Niag'ra  and  a  lake  and  a  buffalo !" 

"Ain't  that  the  grandest  thing  fer  her 
to  go  and  do!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Wiggs. 
"I  told  you  she  was  a'  angel!" 

"  I  'm  right  skeered  of  these  here  long 
trips,"  said  Miss  Hazy,  "so  many  ac 
cidents  these  days." 

"My  sakes!"  answered  Mrs.  Wiggs, 
"I  'd  think  you  'd  be  'fraid  to  step  over 
a  crack  in  the  floor  fer  fear  you  'd  fall 
through.  Why,  Lovey  Mary,  it  's  the 
nicest  thing  I  ever  beared  tell  of!  An' 
188 


The  Cactus  Blooms 

Niag'ry  Fall,  too.  I  went  on  a  trip  once 
when  I  was  little.  Maw  took  me  through 
the  mountains.  I  never  had  seen  moun 
tains  before,  an'  I  cried  at  first  an' 
begged  her  to  make  'em  sit  down.  A  trip 
is  something  you  never  will  fergit  in  all 
yer  life.  It  was  jes  like  Mrs.  Reddin' 
to  think  about  it;  but  I  don't  wonder 
she  feels  good  to  you.  Asia  says  she 
never  expects  to  see  anything  like  the 
way  you  shook  that  candy  outen  little 
Robert.  But  see  here,  if  you  go  'way  off 
there  you  must  n't  fergit  us." 

"I  never  could  forget  you  all,  wher 
ever  I  went,"  said  Lovey  Mary.  "I 
was  awful  mean  when  I  come  to  the 
Cabbage  Patch;  somehow  you  all  just 
bluffed  me  into  being  better.  I  was  n't 
used  to  being  bragged  on,  and  it  made 
me  want  to  be  good  more  than  anything 
in  the  world." 

'  '  That  's  so, ' '  said  Mrs.  Wiggs.  ' '  You 
189 


Lovey  Mary 

can  coax  a '  elephant  with  a  little  sugar. 
The  worser  Mr.  Wiggs  used  to  act,  the 
harder  I  'd  pat  him  on  the  back.  When 
he  'd  git  bilin '  mad,  I  'd  say : '  Now,  Mr. 
Wiggs,  why  don't  you  go  right  out  in 
the  woodshed  an'  swear  off  that  cuss! 
I  hate  to  think  of  it  rampantin'  round 
inside  of  a  good-lookin'  man  like  you.' 
He  'd  often  take  my  advice,  an'  it  al 
ways  done  him  good  an'  never  hurt  the 
woodshed.  As  fer  the  childern,  I  always 
did  use  compelments  on  them  'stid  of 
switches. ' ' 

Lovey  Mary  untied  the  bundle  which 
she  carried,  and  spread  the  contents  on 
the  kitchen  table.  "I  Ve  been  saving 
up  to  get  you  all  some  presents,"  she 
said.  "I  wanted  to  get  something  for 
every  one  that  had  been  good  to  me,  but 
that  took  in  the  whole  Patch!  These 
are  some  new  kind  of  seed  for  Miss 
Viny;  she  learned  me  a  lot  out  of  her 
190 


The  Cactus  Blooms 

garden.    This  is  goods  for  a  waist  for 
you,  Miss  Hazy." 

"It  's  rale  pretty, '"  said  Miss  Hazy, 
measuring  its  length.  "If  you  'd  V 
brought  me  enough  fer  a  skirt,  too,  I  'd 
never  V  got  through  prayin'  fer  you." 

Mrs.  Wiggs  was  indignant.  "I  de 
clare,  Miss  Hazy !  You  ain't  got  a  man 
ner  in  the  world,  sometimes.  It  's  beau 
tiful  goods,  Lovey  Mary.  I  'm  goin'  to 
make  it  up  fer  her  by  a  fancy  new  pat 
tern  Asia  bought;  it  's  got  a  sailor 
collar." 

"This  here  is  for  Chris,"  continued 
Lovey  Mary,  slightly  depressed  by  Miss 
Hazy's  lack  of  appreciation,  "and  this 
is  for  Mrs.  Schultz.  I  bought  you  a 
book,  Mrs.  Wiggs.  I  don't  know  what 
it  's  about,  but  it  's  an  awful  pretty 
cover.  I  knew  you  'd  like  to  have  it  on 
the  parlor  table." 

It  was  the  "Iliad"! 
191 


Lovey  Mary 

Mrs.  Wiggs  held  it  at  arm's-length 
and,  squinting  her  eyes,  read:  "Home 
of  an  Island. " 

"That  ain't  what  the  man  called  it," 
said  Lovey  Mary. 

i  '  Oh,  it  don 't  matter  'bout  the  name. 
It  's  a  beautiful  book,  jes  matches  my 
new  tidy.  You  could  n't  'a'  pleased  me 
better." 

"I  did  n't  have  money  enough  to  go 
round,"  explained  Lovey  Mary,  apolo 
getically,  "but  I  bought  a  dozen  lead- 
pencils  and  thought  I  'd  give  them  round 
among  the  children." 

"Ever 'thing  '11  be  terrible  wrote 
over,"  said  Miss  Hazy. 

The  last  bundle  was  done  up  in  tissue- 
paper  and  tied  with  a  silver  string. 
Lovey  Mary  gave  it  to  Mrs.  Wiggs  when 
Miss  Hazy  was  not  looking. 

"It  's  a  red  necktie,"  she  whispered, 
"for  Billy." 

192 


The  Cactus  Blooms 

When  the  train  for  the  North  pulled 
out  of  the  station  one  Saturday  after 
noon  it  bore  an  excited  passenger. 
Lovey  Mary,  in  a  new  dress  and  hat,  sat 
on  the  edge  of  a  seat,  with  little  Robert 
on  one  side  and  Tommy  on  the  other. 
When  her  nervousness  grew  unbearable 
she  leaned  forward  and  touched  Mrs. 
Redding  on  the  shoulder : 

' ' Will  you  please,  ma'am,  tell  me 
when  we  get  there  ?" 

Mrs.  Redding  laughed.  "Get  there, 
dear?  Why,  we  have  just  started!" 

"I  mean  to  the  Cabbage  Patch. 
They  're  all  going  to  be  watching  for 
me  as  we  go  through." 

"Is  that  it?"  said  Mr.  Redding. 
"Well,  I  will  take  the  boys,  and  you 
can  go  out  and  stand  on  the  platform 
and  watch  for  your  friends." 

Lovey  Mary  hesitated.  "Please,  sir, 
can't  I  take  Tommy,  too?  If  it  had  n't 
193 


Lovey  Mary 

V  been  for  him  I  never  would  have 
been  here." 

So  Mr.  Bedding  took  them  to  the  rear 
car,  and  attaching  Lovey  Mary  firmly 
to  the  railing,  and  Tommy  firmly  to 
Mary,  returned  to  his  family. 

1 1  There  's  Miss  Viny  's ! "  cried  Lovey 
Mary,  excitedly,  as  the  train  whizzed 
past.  "We  're  getting  there.  Hold  on 
to  your  hat,  Tommy,  and  get  your 
pocket-handkerchief  ready  to  wave." 

The  bell  began  to  ring,  and  the  train 
slowed  up  at  the  great  water-tank. 

"There  they  are!  All  of 'em.  Hello, 
Miss  Hazy!  And  there  's  Asia  and 
Chris  and  everybody!" 

Mrs.  Wiggs  pushed  through  the  little 
group  and  held  an  empty  bottle  toward 
Lovey  Mary.  ' '  I  want  you  to  fill  it  f er 
me, ' '  she  cried  breathlessly.  ' '  Fill  it  full 
of  Niag'ry  water.  I  want  to  see  how 
them  falls  look." 

194 


The  Cactus  Blooms 

The  train  began  to  move.  Miss  Hazy 
threw  her  apron  over  her  head  and 
wept.  Mrs.  Wiggs  and  Mrs.  Eichorn 
waved  their  arms  and  smiled.  The  Cab 
bage  Patch,  with  its  crowd  of  friendly 
faces,  became  a  blur  to  the  girl  on  the 
platform.  Suddenly  a  figure  on  a  tele 
graph  pole  attracted  her  attention;  it 
wore  a  red  necktie  and  it  was  throwing 
kisses.  Lovey  Mary  waved  until  the 
train  rounded  a  curve,  then  she  gave 
Tommy  an  impulsive  hug. 

"It  ain't  hard  to  be  good  when  folks 
love  you,"  she  said,  with  a  little  catch 
in  her  voice.  i '  I  '11  make  'em  all  proud 
of  me  yet!" 


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